February 10, 2010
At February’s meeting, we’ll be talking about the iPad, as well as Apple’s recently released Aperture 3.
GIZMODO: Apple Aperture 3 Brings a Little Bit of iPhoto to Pro Photos With Faces and Places [Apple]: “
It’s been a long time coming, but Apple’s latest pro photo software, Aperture 3, is here. Apple’s claiming over 200 new features, pulling in iPhoto stalwarts like Faces and Places, and new slideshows with HD video.
Faces and Places work just like iPhoto, using face detection and tagging, so you can organize photos by people or by where you took them, though now it uses thumbnails of photos that you can actually drag-and-drop photos onto a map. It’s the same Faces engine, but you can restrict face recognition to particular projects, instead of having it scour your whole library. With Places, it works with GPS trackers in a pretty neat way: When you import your tracklog, all you have to do is tell it where the first photo was taken, and then using timestamps, it’ll automatically plot the rest.
Also like iPhoto, you can now upload directly to Facebook and Flickr. Since they’re heavily targeting the hardcore iPhoto user who now wields a DSLR, not only have they streamlined the interface to make it a more natural transition, when you import your iPhoto library, it preserves all of your image adjustments, events, places and faces.
Brushes brings non-destructive painting effects to Aperture, with 15 Quick Brushes for effects like dodge and burn. You can actually apply or remove any adjustment—like contrast or saturation or curves—using brushes. With its new edge detection tech, you can, for example, boost contrast over the whole image, and then use the brush + edge detection to cleanly wipe the effect off of the sky. Adjustment presets are radically improved too—you can save combos of adjustments, like boosted sharpness and saturation with a cooler white balance, and they can be imported and exported.
One of the new things for pros is that they’ve rewritten the way the database works, so you can now sync and merge libraries. Which means you can take a self-contained library out on the road, do a bunch of imaging work, and then merge it back to your master library, and it’ll sync just the changes you made while you were out.
Perhaps the most interesting bit from the creator standpoint are slideshows that integrate photos, audio, text and HD video that can be exported to iTunes and work with the iPhone and iPod touch, though we’ll have to see how powerful it really is.
Apple doesn’t mention it, but the thing I’m really hoping they added a lot of? Speed. Speed. Speed. Speed. Especially after using Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta. Since Aperture 3’s fully 64-bit on Snow Leopard, I’m pretty hopeful, actually. The bad news is that’s restricted to Intel Macs only, it looks like. It’s available today for $200 for the full version, or $100 to upgrade, with a 30-day free trial here.
Apple Releases Aperture 3
New Features Include Faces, Places & Brushes
CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced Aperture™ 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software, with over 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes. Building on the innovative Faces and Places features introduced in iPhoto® 09, Aperture 3 makes it even easier and faster to organize large photo libraries. Aperture 3 introduces new tools to refine your photos including Brushes for painting image adjustments onto parts of your photo, and Adjustment Presets for applying professional photo effects with just one click. Stunning new slideshows let you share your work by weaving together photos, audio, text and HD video.
‘Millions of people love using iPhoto to organize, edit and share their digital photos,’ said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ‘Aperture 3 is designed for both professionals who edit and manage massive libraries of photos and iPhoto users who want to take their photos further with easy-to-use tools such as Brushes and Adjustment Presets.’
‘Aperture 3 gets it right,’ said National Geographic photographer, Jim Richardson. ‘The image editing tools are exactly what I have been asking for, they’re so easy to use and give me a level of control that I never even thought possible.’
‘I chose Aperture because it was the most powerful archiving application around, but it’s now an unbelievable imaging tool as well,’ said Bill Frakes, Sports Illustrated staff photographer. ‘I am beyond impressed with the massive changes made in Aperture 3.’
Aperture 3 allows you to organize large photo libraries with even more flexibility using Projects and the new Faces and Places. Faces uses face detection and recognition to find and organize your photos by the people in them. You can view faces across your entire photo library or view just the faces that appear in selected projects. In a new view that speeds up the organization process, Aperture 3 displays faces that have been detected but haven’t yet been named. Places lets you explore your photos based on where they were taken, and like in iPhoto, Places automatically reverse geocodes GPS data into user-friendly locations. In Aperture 3, you can assign locations by dragging-and-dropping photos onto a map or by using location information from GPS enabled cameras, tracking devices or your iPhone® photos.
The new Brushes feature allows you to add professional touches to your photos by simply painting effects onto the image. Aperture 3 includes 15 Quick Brushes that perform the most popular tasks like Dodge, Burn, Polarize and Blur, without the complexity of layers or masks. Brushes can automatically detect edges in your images to let you apply or remove effects exactly where you want them. Aperture 3 includes dozens of Adjustment Presets that apply a specific style or look to the entire image with just a click. You can create your own custom presets or explore the techniques of other photographers by importing theirs.
Aperture 3 makes it easy to share your work with stunning slideshows that weave together photos, audio, text and HD video. You can select one of six Apple designed themes or choose your own transitions, background, borders and titles, and even add your own soundtrack. You can export your slideshows directly to iTunes® to take with you on your iPhone or iPod touch®. You can also share photographs as beautiful prints, create custom-designed hardcover books and publish to online photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, right from Aperture 3.
Pricing & Availability
Aperture 3 is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and existing Aperture users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $99 (US). A downloadable 30-day trial version is available at www.apple.com/aperture/trial. Aperture 3 runs as a 64-bit application on Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® on Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Full system requirements, online tutorials and more information on Aperture 3 can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Aperture, iPhoto, iPhone, iTunes, iPod touch, Apple Store and Snow Leopard are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
(Via Gizmodo.)
January 28, 2010
“I love concept designs – the images artists put together for films, architecture, automobiles, etc. – before making the actual product. Concept designs allow an artist to spur others imaginations to show them what might be possible.
The guys at ClarkeHopkinsClarke architects in Australia have thrown together these nifty concept designs to show off how multiple iPads could be used to build a big multi-touch wall – in this case, one that would be used in a library.
The biggest buzz surrounding the iPad might be its applications and features, but we have realised there are more use for this product. The iPad has paved way for affordable multi-touch screen-walls for building interiors. The size of the iPad (242.8mm x 189.7mm x 13.4 mm) and the weight (0.73kg) works very well for this purpose. With the built-in features of the iPad and customable applications, there is literally endless number of things we can do on the wall.
Interchangeable wallpaper pattern & video is just the beginning, but imaging a giant jigsaw that you can play using multitouch, an interactive aquarium scene, digital graffiti, and of course, act as a life sized digital bookcase for your iBooks! (If you cant reach the top shelf, just drag it down with multi-touch!)
Costly, you say? It’s actually not as much as you would think. The architects note that in terms of price, some of the more expensive mosaic tiles in the market nowadays cost over US$250 each, thus, iPad’s US$499 price point is only about twice that, but it contains state-of-the art technology that would allow much more functionality than the current line of tech tiles.
It’s been less than a day and already people are thinking of novel uses for the iPad. It’ll be interesting to see the future uses people dream up for it!”
(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)
January 27, 2010
“Folks, the Apple media event has begun, the cool cats at Macworld are on hand to cover it and here we go in a play by play:
- Jobs has appeared on stage, has cited that Apple is current the number one mobile device maker in the world and has stated that the ‘Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.’
- Jobs is now citing 1991 and the first PowerBooks, is theorizing that there might be a better category between a notebook and a smartphone.
- They’ve caught a glimpse of the thing. There’s apparently a Home button, a MacBook-like aluminum bezel and a glass screen. Users are apparently able to personalize their home screen as they’d like it.
Hang tight, they’ve got an initial picture:
- The name has just been revealed: It’s the iPad.
- Jobs is apparently sending an e-mail with an Apple Mail-esque client and typing on the screen as he would with a standard QWERTY keyboard. The device is on his lap.
- Jobs is looking through photos and is able to grab data from a nearby Mac or PC as well as turn the tablet to portrait or landscape mode as well as pinch, scrub and flick through pictures.
- Ok, there’s an iPod interface that looks a lot like the album view in iTunes meshed with Cover Flow on the iPhone.
- The interface apparently contains floating panes and windows.
- Jobs is now surfing through high definition YouTube videos of a surfing dog. Behold the nesting instinct!
- Right the iPad is apparently half an inch thick, weighs only 1.5 pounds and is both thinner and lighter than any netbook on the market. The device features a 9.7? IPS display that allows for terrific angles of view. There’s a full capacitive multi-touch screen, a 1GHz Apple A4 chip and either 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of solid state flash memory onboard.
- The chip is by PA Semi.
- Other specs: The iPad features 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1, an accelerometer and compass, speaker microphone, standard 30-pin connector and apparently 10 hours of battery life. The unit also sports a full month of standby life and the user can set it down, walk away for a month and it’ll still have a charge when they come back.
- The iPad is arsenic free, BFR-free, mercury-free, PCV-free and recyclable.
- The iPad apparently runs almost every iPhone/iPod touch app unmodified right out of the box.
- Ok, Jobs is now using Facebook and there’s an option to run apps at different resolutions.
- Video looks great on the iPad and Jobs is playing an unmodified snowboarding game.
- Apple is apparently undergoing a huge effort to get App Store apps to this device.
- Oh, cool, they’re releasing an updated iPhone SDK to offer development support for the iPad. The new SDK will be released today on Apple’s web site.
- The new SDK will feature an iPad simulator to allow iPad apps to run on your Mac as you write them.
- Right, the mighty Gameloft, which has over 60 games and 55 million downloads is now showing off its Nova shooter.
- A representative from the New York Times is demoing the paper’s web site on the iPad. It apparently looks great… and with any luck, this will save journalism as we know it.
- Because a picture’s worth a thousand words:
- Ok, the reading experience looks good and users can change the number of columns, resize text easily and view embedded videos.
- A Brushes app allows users to edit images, all the while tapping to bring up palettes, brushes and tools. Pinching allows the users to zoom in up to 32x and the app will be available at product launch.
- Electronic Arts is up and showing off Need for Speed for the iPad. The company has apparently built a cool version in just a few days.
- Hmm, the iPad is being reported as speedy. Not a bad thing.
- Chad Evans from Major League Baseball is showing off the At Bat app. With this, users can navigate league scoreboards, check player profiles and receive live data from the MLB.com web site.
- Hang on, they’re bringing out an Apple app: an e-book reader.
- Right, it’s called iBook, the interface contains a bookshelf of books and a new iBook Store will be available through iTunes and allow you to purchase titles from publishers including Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon and Shuster, Macmillan and Hachette Book Group.
- Prices for the books vary between US$7.99 and US$14.99, you tap to read, tap anywhere to flip the pages forward or backward, drag a page to slowly turn said page and tap to access the Table of Contents.
- Book fonts can be changed on the fly. All right, that’s cool.
- Books will be published via the EPUB format, which is open and compatible to what’s out there.
- Phil Schiller has now emerged to describe the new version of iWork.
- A completely new version of Keynote has been designed for the iPad. The application runs in the iPad’s horizontal mode and users can tap buttons to create presentations, open templates, etc.
- Users can tap and hold an icon to slide it around the screen. Photos can be resized via pinching and other effects are applied with finger-based gestures.
- For animations in Keynote, tap the animation mode and slide your finger around to access animation techniques.
- The new version of Pages allows you to open a document via tapping. Then, tap anywhere to open a keyboard. A new Page Navigator tool allows you to hold a finger on the right of a document to bring up a loupe icon that allows you to skim through the pages. Menus and sub-menus can be accessed via tapping.
- Over in the Numbers app, a new tab interface allows a single document to hold an assortment of spreadsheets. Columns can be rearranged by tapping and dragging and data automatically updates itself.
- Ok, this is interesting. Apple is going to charge US$9.99 for each of the new iWork applications. Users can purchase them from the App Store with little hassle.
- The iPad: It connects to projectors!!!
- Steve Jobs has just returned to the stage and the iPad syns with your Mac or PC via iTunes. Users can sync photos, music, movies, TV shows, contacts, calendars, booksmarks and applications. Backups are synced back and the app creates files to restore from.
- Each iPad features Wi-Fi but additional models will have 3G access built in as well. iPad owners will be ablt to access AT&T plans, the first offering 250 megabytes of data for US$14.99 per month. An unlimited data plan will be available for US$29.99 per month. Users will be able to access AT&T’s hotspots for free around the U.S.
- Users can go to the store, activate the plan on the iPad and there’s no contract. Users will be able to to pre-pay in advance.
- Apple hopes to have international plans in place by Jule or July and all iPad 3G models are unlocked and use new GSM micro Sim units.
- You’re going to like this: The iPad starts at US$499.
- US$499 gets you the base model with 16GB onboard, US$599 gets you the 32GB model and US$699 gets you the 64GB model. The 3G models retail for US$130 extra to include the radio units and are available at US$629, US$729 and US$829.
- The iPad will be available worldwide in 60 days and the 3G units will be available in 90 days.
- There’s a docking device that includes a keyboard. Slide your iPad into it, the dock will charge it and you can type as much as you want. The third accessory seems to be a case which doubles as a typing stand.
- Ok, that seems to be about it and there’s something cool on the horizon. As always, let us know what you think in the comments.”
(Via O’Grady’s PowerPage – Your Mobile Technology Destination.)
January 26, 2010
“The App of the Day for Monday, January 25th is Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies.
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies brings the classic Call of Duty: World at War zombie-slaying game mode to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Featuring the original zombie map ‘Nacht der Untoten’ (Night of the undead), fight to survive in the barricaded bunker where it all began – and you can bring along your friends to help push back the endless waves of attacking zombies.
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies for the iPhone supports up to four players via Wi-Fi/Internet and two players via Bluetooth. Play with your friends in the same room, on the other side of town, and even across the globe. With the option of either private or open matchmaking, where there’s a Wi-Fi connection, there’s a friend to go Zombie-hunting with.
This is the Zombie experience from Call of Duty: World at War. ‘Nacht der Untoten’ has been fully realized on the iPhone in a silky smooth 3D environment, along with the return of your favorite guns and killer power ups.
Leaderboard support awards the best of the best, accessed directly through your iPhone or iPod Touch. Become the top zombie slayer and prove your standings to the world!
So snap to attention, pick up Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies, and start fending off the zombie horde!
Buy Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies now! ($9.99)“
(Via App of the Day.)
Conde Nast’s Wired at the TED conference Friday said it would have an iPad-native version of its magazine available by the summer. The demo by Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson of a prototype showed a simple navigation system that would use gestures and the iPad’s native features to improve on the experience versus a website. Swipes left and right navigate through individual articles; picking an article and then swiping up or down scrolls through the entire story….”
After much speculation Apple has officially announced the iPad, the company’s first tablet device. The hardware resembles an oversized iPhone, but uses a dramatically altered version of the iPhone interface, borrowing tropes from Mac OS X such as a Dock, floating windows and a desktop background. Apps on the device are much more elaborate, for instance allowing Mail to display both a list of messages and a preview pane at the same time, or Calendar to show an entire month….”