Color, A Twitter For Photos



Color
(photo taken from color.com)



UPDATE: In the video posted below, Color founder Bill Nguyen describes the application as similar to going to a wedding and having several disposable cameras sitting in front of you.  You can now have the ability to do the same thing, except with your iPhone.



The technology that allows you to look at the photographs and videos on other people’s phones is finally here.

According to a March 24^th article on Computerworld.com, the free photo sharing application, Color, was made available last week for iPhone and Android smart phones.  Similar to a photographic version of Twitter, this application allows you to view and share the photographs taken on your phone with anybody within a 150 foot radius. 


In this article, the author interviews Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research, who states: 

Some people like to share what they see, what they're doing, what they like and even what they don't like. And they like to see what other people are doing and liking.

The Color Application
(photo taken from geeky-gadgets.com)

With also having the ability to be posted to Facebook and Twitter, this is a great way to communicate different ideas and photographs to others. The application will also analyze surrounding lighting conditions, GPS, and audio to figure out the location you are at.  
  

Color also creates a great business opportunity by providing a potential way of free advertising.  For example, as someone walks by a restaurant, they could see a photograph come up on their phone of how great the food looks and be persuaded to go inside.  As Ezra Gottheil states in the Computerworld.com article:

If the person is looking at their smartphone instead of your shop window, why not put your picture where he or she is looking?

This is a great idea!

The following video gives the potential of the Color application. 

Although the new Color application poses a great opportunity, it may also create a threat. 

The photo sharing application does not provide any privacy settings.  This means that you are allowing anybody using Color to see your photographs and videos within 150 feet you.

It also does not have a friending function.  Color will determine who your friends are based on who is around you the most.  Once the application has decided who your friends are based on geography and shared interests, it will put you into a social network with that person, allowing you to receive updates more often from them.  This may allow for those who you do not even know to become part of your network. 



Another photo of the Color application.
(photo taken from itunes.apple.com)

 Although the entire point of Color is to make new connections, it could be scary for some people.  Sharing photographs and videos with those you do not know could create a threat.  It could, however, also create new relationships between people. 

In a March 24 article on Switched.com, Color founder Bill Nguyen states:

Social networks are doing pretty amazing things, but to me, social networks still feel solitary, like advanced e-mail, where you write something, post something, and someone responds. That's not like real life at all.

But these social networks have privacy setting, which a large number of users find to be appropriate.  It will be interesting to see how many people will actually use this application within its first few weeks.    

iPad 2: 2 Cameras

 

The New iPad 2
(photo taken from whitezine.com)



UPDATE:  In the video below, several capabilities of the iPad 2’s front and rear facing cameras are given.  Around 2:30 into the video, the builders describe the cameras as being bigger and better than you have ever been able to use before and changes the entire experience of FaceTime and video sharing.  Everything is now clearer and more expressive.

 



The iPad 2's new
FaceTime feature.
(photo taken from
sizlopedia.com)



It still does not have a camera card slot, but the new iPad 2, in stores tomorrow, March 11, has made advances over the previous iPad with two recently added cameras containing several features.



Both the front and back cameras of the iPad 2 are designed for FaceTime video calling, enabling you to make video calls through a Wi-Fi connection to someone who has an iPhone 4, iPod Touch, Mac, or iPad 2 and be there in person, even when you are miles apart.  This feature, much like Skype, is great for long-distance relationships and far away family and friends. 

These cameras also contain the Photo Booth application, allowing you to capture photographs and transform them.  You can twist your face, double your head, or make yourself look like an alien or comic book figure.    

In addition to these capabilities, the rear camera of the iPad 2 also has HD video capabilities, recording up to 30 frames per second as well as a still camera with 5X digital zoom. 

The following video discusses other capabilities of the iPad 2.

Because of its many capabilities, photography businesses are seeing the benefits of using the new iPad 2. 

 



In a PhotoRadar article by Jeff Meyer he states:

The iPad could be the most important piece of all your wedding photography equipment. Take a group shot, pass it around. People will love it. And if they don't, then you know to take the shot again!



This use would help create a sense of ease for the bride, groom, and  photographer.

Meyer also expresses:

With the heaviest model weighing just 1.35 pounds, the iPad 2 is considerably lighter than your laptop. What's more, it's likely quicker to start up and shut down when on the move. Apple claims the iPad 2 also boasts 10 hours of battery time.



The iPad 2's new
Photo Booth application.
(photo taken from
whitezine.com)



The article also confirms that this new generation iPad has the capabilities to be hooked up to a television to use video mirroring, allowing you to turn your television screen into your iPad.  This feature makes it easier to transport your photos and show them to clients on location. 

 



Despite the positives that the new iPad 2 will bring to its consumers, there is a major downfall.  A March 4^th article on CNN Tech confirms that the new iPad 2’s front and rear facing cameras are as basic as you can get and are similar to the iPod Touch camera.  The rear facing camera contains 0.92 megapixels, only about half of the megapixels you need to develop a regular 4x6 photograph, making it almost useless. 

Overall, the iPad 2 seems to have improved considerably when compared to the original iPad.  Although it was never designed to take the place of a regular camera, it can help in those certain situations in which you need it the most.   

For a list of other occupations that may be able to use the new iPad 2 capabilities, please click here.



21 Years of Photoshop

(photo taken from hongkiat.com)

UPDATE:  In the video below both Thomas and John Knoll joke about the different names they had to go through before finally naming their product Photoshop.


According to PC World’s article by Chris Brandrick, Adobe Photoshop celebrated its 21^st anniversary on February 10^th.  Throughout its 21 years, this software has made several improvements to the industry, as well as caused some controversy in the media.

The development of Adobe Photoshop started in 1987 when PhD student, Thomas Knoll, began working on his thesis, detailing the processing of digital images.  His new Apple Mac Plus disappointed him because the monitor could not display black and white images, so he began writing a program to do so. 

Thomas’s brother John Knoll was also working on image processing and after seeing Thomas’s work was impressed.  The brothers decided to form a partnership and soon created a larger and more organized program they named Display.



Adobe's first Photoshop product,
Adobe Photoshop 1.0.
(photo taken from
prodesigntools.com)

 In 1988, the program’s name became ImagePro and its features were growing drastically, more than any other software available at the time.  Barneyscan, a scanner manufacturing company, began bundling the software with their scanner sales.

In September 1988, Adobe took on the ImagePro software and renamed it Photoshop.  Adobe Photoshop 1.0 for Macintosh was finally released to consumers in February 1990, being marketed as a simple tool for everyone to use.

The next Adobe additions included many new features such as CMYK color support in version 2.0, which lead to the adoption by the printing industry, and layers in version 3.0, which persuaded many consumers to try it.  In 1992, version 2.5 was finally released for both Macintosh and Windows.

More features allowed Adobe Photoshop to grow along the way.  With competition that claimed to offer “Photoshop’s power without the price,” the solution was to create a software program that had many of the same functions as Photoshop without the price, Adobe Elements.

The following video is a discussion with some of the masterminds behind the program during Photoshop's 20th Anniversary last year.

For the full video, please click here.  

Throughout the years of Photoshop developments, it has made it easier for artists to create the “perfect person” perception.  But this can also cause a lot of controversy.  A recently published unretouched photograph of Holly Madison, former Playboy Playmate and ex-star of The Girl’s Next Door, in Life and Style Magazine has caused a lot of controversy within the media.  She stated in an Access Hollywood article published March 2, 2011:

This unretouched photograph
of Holly Madison appeared
in Life and Style Magazine.
(photo taken from
realitytea.com)

I have cellulite and had it even when I was at my absolute thinnest. I'm never not going to have cellulite.

She also goes on to say:

I’ve always had a butt, and I want to keep it, cellulite and all. I’m not perfect, but I love my curves.

This is the perspective many women today have trouble with.  They have the perception that photoshopped images have given them and will take extreme measures to get there.  But as Holly Madison states in her article, we should all accept ourselves for who we are and realize that nobody is perfect. 

For a list of other major changes in Adobe’s 12 major releases, please click here.