These days, the easiest way to learn what your camera does is to take it out and use it. Instant feedback shows you how different apertures affect depth-of-field, how faster and slower shutter speeds can freeze and blur the action, and how zooming your lens can affect more than just how big things are in your photos.
But back in the days of film, where a week could go by between tripping the shutter and seeing the results, something like the Camera Sim would have been invaluable. Even today, this SLR simulator is a great learning tool. It’s a Flash application that runs in your browser and lets you adjust everything that can affect the picture.
Drag to change the lighting from dull and overcast to bright sunshine, to change your distance from the subject, the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and the focal length of the lens. Choose aperture priority, shutter priority, or manual exposure modes, then press the shutter to take a picture.
Your snap is displayed complete with motion blur, exposure errors and even high-ISO sensor noise. A complete novice will still need some instruction, but once that’s done they can twiddle around and see which control affects what.
It’s a shame it uses Flash, as this is the perfect sim to have on the phone or tablet in your pocket. If there isn’t already an app for this — which would allow a beginner to check up on things in the field — somebody should write one already. As it is, the Camera Sim is free, with v2.0 on the way.
In case you need still more distraction from using your Nook Color to, you know, read, now you can have Hulu‘s extensive video library at your fingertips, thanks to a simple 19-step process. Replacing the standard Adobe Flash Player with a modified version seems to work for the Nook and some other devices; users at Android Central have reported success on the Epic 4G, Thunderbolt, and Droid Incredible. When you’re ready to trade One Hundred Years of Solitude for 1000 Ways To Die or 16 and Pregnant, hit the source link for detailed instructions, and see the tutorial video after the break.
The Third Rail battery piggy-backs onto its own iPhone case
The Third Rail case is much less dangerous than it sounds. Instead of being a huge metal beam that carries a gazillion volts with the dual purpose of powering underground trains and terrifying children, the Third Rail is an accessory battery pack for your iPhone.
It’s not just another chunky juice-pack style case, either. While the case itself remains permanently attached to your iPhone, the battery is removable. When needed, it piggy-backs onto the case and provides its electrical replenishment. This cuts down on bulk and also lets you carry more than one spare.
The Smart Battery, as it is called, has a pair of USB ports on it, too. One is for charging the battery, and the other is for juicing any other USB-powered devices you might have.
I used to use a small, plug-in external battery for my iPod Touch, and while it was super-handy, it hung from (and often detached from) the dock connector. The Third Rail system seems to combine the best parts of power cases and external batteries.
The “Slim Case” will cost $40, and a battery costs $60. You can also opt for the kit with everything , including cables, for $90.
Some emotional robots dip deep into the dark recesses of the uncanny valley, where our threshold for human mimicry resides. Emoti-bots on the other hand, manage to skip the creepy human-like pitfalls of other emo-machines, instead employing household objects to ape the most pathetic of human emotions — specifically dejection and insecurity. Sure it sounds sad, but the mechanized furniture designed by a pair of MFA students is actually quite clever. Using a hacked Roomba and an Arduino, the duo created a chair that reacts to your touch, and wanders aimlessly once your rump has disembarked. They’ve also employed Nitinol wires, a DC motor, and a proximity sensor to make a lamp that seems to tire with use. We prefer our lamps to look on the sunny side of life, but for those of you who like your fixtures forlorn, the Emoti-bots are now on display at Parsons in New York and can be found moping about in the video after the break.
Last week saw the grand opening of a brand new total beauty facility from Japanese beauty giant Shiseido, “Shiseido The Ginza” offering shoppers far more than just a mere retail experience.
Situated in the heart of Ginza, a luxury shopping area in central Tokyo, the space consists of three floors of beauty related products and services. Aiming to provide “a place where you can meet undiscovered aspects of yourself,” Shiseido have created a very modern, fresh space featuring beauty parlors, product sampling areas, a photo studio and even incorporated some cutting edge interactive shopping experiences for customers to play with. Rather than simply a cosmetic or beauty products shop, the space gives customers a chance to indulge themselves in a far more engaging retail experience and immerse themselves in the full Shiseido brand experience.
The first floor features Shiseido’s full product lineup along with a number of fully interactive digital cosmetic mirrors. Customers scan a barcode of a chosen product and the “mirror” then automatically applies the product on the image of the customers face. Allowing shoppers to try varying shades of mascara or eyeliner from different angles, customers are able to virtually try the product and find the most complementing shades for them. There are also a number of scanning terminals where shoppers can scan products and receive more information including application tips and beauty secrets.
Shoppers are then invited to the second floor where they can chat with trained staff to find out more about certain products and cosmetics found on the first floor. There are also a number of booths allowing customers to trial different products, and a “Bihada Lounge” where professional counsellors can diagnose skin types using specialized equipment and recommend different skincare regimes. The whole second floor is a far more indulgent shopping experience, inviting shoppers to be pampered with a hair and makeup salon staffed by estheticians from the Shiseido Academy of Beauty & Fashion, and even a photo studio to capture ladies at their glowing best.
Moving up to the third floor also moves up the luxury ladder, exuding an elegant feel with a Swarovski crystal chandelier above plush carpet and individual counseling rooms for full private beauty sessions offering the brands premium products. Once again taking advantage of some of the most advanced beauty technology specialsed equipment and software designed by Shiseido, gives visitors the chance to learn more about their skin condition and offers a “total approach to beauty”. The private booths are particularly nicely designed with darker colors and sleek modern furnishings providing a more intimate space featuring massage chairs, showers, Shiseido branded towels and other beauty devices.
The interior is fully designed by Klein Dytham who are well known for their innovative and stylish work and is built around an “Arch” concept. Inviting customers to find hidden areas in the shop which each have their own distinct theme, whether it be a Moroccan looking powder booth or a more clinical treatment room, shoppers are encouraged to explore the whole space, try, buy and generally indulge themselves.
More and more brands are moving toward utilizing their spaces as more than just simple retail shops, aiming to provide a brand experience which becomes part of a consumer’s lifestyle . This idea of a fully immersive shopping experience works particularly well with the cosmetic and beauty sector, where shoppers can either pop in for their favorite product or spend the full day being pampered in luxury surroundings.
It’s been about a year since he left Microsoft, but the J Allard era came to a more definitive close yesterday, with the shuttering of his brainchild, Pioneer Studios. Microsoft opened the incubation lab more than three years ago as an entrepreneurial space where designers could toy around with new consumer technologies. The tragically shelvedCourier tablet was first developed within Pioneer’s exposed brick walls, where Allard and his Alchemy Ventures team also worked on the Xbox, Zune and Windows Phone 7. Now, however, a Microsoft spokeswoman has confirmed that the downtown Seattle office is no longer occupied, telling CNET that many of the lab’s employees have either left, or moved on to different positions within the company. Pioneer co-founder Georg Petschnigg left Microsoft in April to pursue an “undisclosed new venture,” while fellow godfather Jonathan Harris is still at Redmond, where he serves as “principle experience director,” according to their respective LinkedIn profiles. The spokeswoman didn’t offer a specific reason for the decision, but in a now-ominous video posted to Microsoft’s developer site back in October, Petschnigg acknowledged that the unit’s innovative spirit would frequently lead to dead ends. “Often times our work just doesn’t go anywhere,” he explained, adding that Pioneer would only pursue projects expected to bring in more than $100 million a year. “That’s one of the perils of being an entrepreneur.” See the full video after the break.
Google’s already indicated that tablets and smartphones won’t be sharing the same Android build until Ice Cream Sandwich in Q4, though interestingly enough, it turns out that the tablet-friendly Honeycomb actually has Gingerbread’s interface quietly tucked underneath. According to modder Graffix0214, all you need for making the jump is one simple tweak in a system file: assuming you already have root access, use your preferred method — Pocketables recommends the LCDDensity for Root app — to change the LCD density value to 170 or higher to emulate a smaller, denser display. After a reboot, you should then see some Gingerbread love as demoed by Graffix0214’s video after the break; and likewise, set the value to 160 or lower to roll back. It sure is nice to have an option, eh?
For professional photographers, every second counts when downloading images on a deadline — especially when you throw enormous HD video files into the mix. With the $50 Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, photogs now have a fast transfer option to compliment their pricey high-capacity CF and UHS-I SDXC cards, theoretically enabling downloads at up to 500MB per second (though current cards max out at one-fifth of that). You’ll need to have a USB 3.0 port and high-speed flash to take advantage of faster transfers, though the reader is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 and older cards — you’ll even be able to use that 32MB CF that came bundled with your DSLR. And what about appearance? Lexar Director of Marketing Jeff Cable sums it up: “It looks similar to our older card reader, the USB 2.0 reader, except that it says USB 3.0 right here on the front.” Bam!
Yay for the UK, it’s now one step closer to catching up to the Japan of last decade. Mobile carrier Orange is today launching the UK’s first mobile phone contactless payment service, dubbed Quick Tap, for purchases up to £15. It works on MasterCard’s PayPass system and requires you to have a Barclays debit or credit card or, alternatively, a credit card from Orange itself. Gemalto is providing the SIM-based NFC compatibility, with Samsung’s entirely unrevolutionary Tocco Lite being the (admittedly affordable) launch handset. Then you just need to trust the Quick Pay app to be as secure as promised and you’ll be ready to go off and use your phone as a payment terminal at over 50,000 locations, including joints run by McDonald’s, Eat, Pret A Manger, Subway, and Wilkinson. A quick intro video and a more expansive press release follow after the break.
The 16GB-equipped, 7-inch Flyer from HTC is making its way west this week. Best Buy, which gets the honor of exclusively launching the WiFi-only Android tablet in the US, has revealed Sunday as the official first day of availability for the Flyer, at a price of $500. As you’ll recall, the stylus that ships in the retail box just about everywhere else will be markedly missing from the Best Buy bundle, costing an extra $80 to those who simply must have it. You’ll be able to purchase your Flyer online and at all brick-and-mortar Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, but if mobile connectivity is more important to you, we’d advise holding out a little while longer for the 3G- and 4G-capable Evo View variety on Sprint.
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