Posts tagged Flickr at Switched

Posts with tag flickr

Free Photoshop Express Gets Updated, Adds Slideshows

by Tim Stevens, posted May 20th 2008 at 1:10PM

Adobe has launched a new version of its free, online version of Photoshop, which is called Express. When we reviewed it earlier, we were impressed with the app's ease of use and speed, considering the program runs within a Web page. Also, the two-gigabytes (GB) of storage and integration with Picasa and Facebook was handy.

This new revision adds the ability to interact directly with photo-sharing community Flickr, letting you pull photos from your account into Express, tweak them a bit, and then export them back over in a jiffy. Also, the new version enables the creation of animated slide shows such as the one pictured above, which you can then embed anywhere you like. And, finally, you can now easily save a copy of any photo you edit, making it easier to get the original back should you mess with it a little too much -- a feature that was curiously missing from the first version.

Here's the beauty part: Since it's all online, there's no patch or software update to download or install. Just log in and you automatically have the latest version. And, while the enhancements aren't exactly mind-blowing, you can't argue with the price -- it's free! [Source: USA Today]

How to 'Geotag' Your Photos

by Will Safer, posted May 19th 2008 at 10:39AM

Taking pictures with digital still cameras has been popular for years. Now GPS devices are the johnny-come-lately of the tech you cool kids want. So what happens when you combine the two capabilities? Why, geotagging your photos, of course!

Geotagging is the process of marking on each digital photograph the geographical location of where you took the shot. This information can be used to enhance how you review pictures from a vacation, maybe viewing them on a map online or comparing them to pictures taken by other people who have similarly geotagged their shots. It can be both fun and informative.

One easy way to geotag your photos is to use a new SD memory card introduced by Eye-Fi (read our post on this announcement here). This SD card automatically detects where you are and writes this information into the image file as you take a picture. Ingenious, we say!

We also liked learning how Flickr, the online photo-sharing site, lets you drag and drop your photos onto an online map to identify where they were taken. (We'll admit we could spend hours doing this.)

And these were just two of the easy methods. Read the whole article for more. [Source Wired]

Flickr Buys Donuts for 20,000 Anti-Protesters

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 17th 2008 at 10:18AM

Flickr Anti-Protesters Demand Donuts, Get Sweet Victory

Last week uber-photo-site Flickr launched a new service enabling subscribers to post videos to the site. Users can now list their moving pictures in galleries right next to their still ones. Most Flickr members accepted this new feature with open arms, but some Luddites organized a protest to have the video feature removed. The fear was that the addition would result in an influx of jokers who would degrade the overall community.

It seems there were already plenty of jokers on the site, however, who organized themselves into an anti-protest group. That members of that group didn't want the removal of the video feature, they just wanted pastries.

The group called itself We Demand Donuts and demanded just that, stating that it wanted Flickr to buy all of its protesters pastries if it reached 20,000 members. The group hit that number, and Flickr held up its end of the bargain at San Francisco's Bob's Donut and Pastry Shop, where it bought one delicious-looking confectionery treat for every member of the group who showed up.

Based on the photos from that event (and the other meet-ups that this triggered worldwide), it looks like it was quite a success. [Source: Flickr, via geeksugar]

Nikon Debuts Slim, Wi-Fi-friendly Fashion Camera

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 10:54AM

Nikon is fleshing out its "Style Series" of shooters with the COOLPIX S52 and S52c (pictured) compact cameras. The two cameras are pretty much spec-for-spec identical, other than the Wi-Fi capabilities of the S52c, which allow it to upload shots wirelessly to services like Flickr or Nikon's own "my Picturetown." Otherwise, you're looking at a pair of fairly standard compacts, with 9-megapixel sensors, 3x zoom, optical image stabilization and so forth.

Both will be available in May, with the S52 retailing for $250, and the S52c arriving at $280.

From Engadget

Hands-On With New Flickr Video

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 9:24PM

For those with a photographic bent, Flickr is the place to be. It has evolved into a giant community for would-be and definitely-are quality photographers to share their pictures with peers for critique, while also serving as a place for more casual shooters to simply upload their favorites to share with friends. It has always been just photos, though. That's finally changing with the release of Flickr Video, which enables users to upload video clips along with their stills. We played around with the new feature earlier today and here's what we found.....

For starters, videos live and are categorized and tagged right next to photos, so they're almost indistinguishable from photos (thanks to the clean and simple player interface Flickr has released). There's also a strict 90-second limit on videos, which may seem somewhat constricting, but from what we've seen thus far, tends to result in most being short and artsy vids that are quick to digest but tend to stay with you. That's a stark contrast from the long-winded vlogs that dominate YouTube.

We definitely like the simple interface and of course love the high video quality. We also like the varying aspect ratios offered, whether tall and narrow or more traditionally square. The ability to upload vids directly from a camera is also nice. However, there is a catch: Only "Pro" users have the ability to upload. At $25 per year, turning Pro doesn't exactly break the bank, and you also get unlimited photo uploads out of the deal. Still, with so many free competitors out there, it's unlikely that many casual users will choose to pay up, even if the quality elsewhere doesn't compare.

So, a direct YouTube threat this ain't, but if non-paying users are allowed to join in the fun and upload their videos, Flickr Video could become the go-to place for serious amateur videographers.

From TechCrunch

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Girl Dumps Boyfriend Via Facebook Status Message

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 6th 2007 at 11:52AM

Girl Dumps Guy Via Facebook Status, Digg'ers Take Revenge

Let this be a lesson to you: Take breaking up a little more seriously and try not to embarrass your soon-to-be ex anywhere that others might see. This was learned the hard way by video blogger Sandra Soroka who ditched her beau via a Facebook status update.

The real mistake was posting an image of the status update on Digg, where scorned, geeky, men decided that Sandra had gone too far. Her Flickr account was hacked, all her photos deleted and replaced with a 'lol cat.' Horrifying.

We would just like to thank Sandra for putting her neck out there and confirming what any person with a sense of decency probably suspected -- breaking up via Facebook status update is a bad idea.

From Valleywag

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New Jack Black Film 'Destroys' the Internet

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 28th 2007 at 5:45PM

The upcoming Michel Gondry-directed Jack Black vehicle 'Be Kind Rewind' is set to hit theaters on January 25th, which means it's promotion time. In the film, Mos Def and Jack Black are forced to re-film or 'swede' a pile of films after a magnetized Jack Black accidentally erases every video in the rental shop.

So in keeping with the film's premise, the web site for the motion picture erases the Internet. Then, in a rather cutesy fashion, the site presents you with several 'sweded' versions of popular web pages to use, including Google, Wikipedia, a social networking site called MyFace, and Flickr, among others.

Check out the site for some interesting web fun. Even if it all just amounts to an interactive advertisement, at least the movie looks cool.

From Valleywag

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Twitter Users Tracking the Latest California Fire News

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 23rd 2007 at 10:00AM

Southern Californians near San Diego are currently in the midst of a massive and (largely) out of control wildfire destroying houses and displacing many residents. When you're near such a spreading and unpredictable disaster, staying informed is about the most important thing you can do. Some posts made by users of the instant-status-update site Twitter are helping some keep ahead of the flames.

According to 'Wired,' two users, Nate Ritter and Viss, are using the site to post updates about the fire's progress, ordered evacuations, police presence, and traffic problems. The two are even posting pictures online of the events happening in and around the turmoil. This is an interesting change of intent for the Twitter, which is typically host to banal updates about where someone is or what they're doing right now, updates that may or may not be interesting, but that certainly won't save your life.

Nate and Viss are using the identifier #sandiegofire for their updates, and if you're the SMS type, you can send the message "track sandiegofire" to 40404 and get updates straight to your phone.

From Wired

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Stolen Laptop Self-Uploads Photo of Suspect to Web

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 27th 2007 at 2:07PM

Look at that face. That's the face of some poor sap who is either the unluckiest thief ever, or a guy who keeps some really bad company. His misadventure began when one of five Mac laptops stolen from the offices of a Vancouver, BC-based Web startup landed in his hands.

WorkSpaces -- the victim company -- had used this particular laptop as a photo booth for its online guest book hosted at photo-sharing behemoth, Flickr. The Mac had been rigged up with Flickrbooth, an application that can be set up to automatically upload photos to Flickr when they're taken by the laptop's built-in iSight Web cam. After the robbery of the WorkSpaces offices, this photo suddenly appeared on the company's Flickr site. When WorkSpaces realized that this mystery man was in all likelihood the same person who'd knocked off their property, the self-produced Wanted poster began making its rounds on Flickr, and then the blogosphere. In no time, this guy was an Internet celebrity.

With nowhere to run, the unnamed man appeared at a Vancouver police station with laptop in tow. He claims he bought the laptop from a friend who'd bought it from another friend, and was unaware that is was stolen. At this time, no charges have been filed, but the matter is under investigation according to authorities.

This guy is a shoe-in for the 2007 Darwin Awards if there ever was one.

From Boing Boing

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Virgin Mobile Steals Teen's Flickr Photo For Ad Campaign

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Sep 21st 2007 at 4:30PM

Alison Chang's Picture used by Virgin Mobile

Flickr provides a great way to share pictures with friends and family. It's also a great way for not-so-upright advertising creatives to find pictures for their campaigns.

Virgin Mobile of Australia featured a picture of 16 year-old Alison Chang on bus stops throughout Australia as part of their "Are You With Us Or What" wireless service campaign. The thing is, neither she nor her youth group counselor, who took and posted the photo, gave Virgin permission to use the picture. What's more, the ad contains what Chang and her family feel are defamatory statements not only about her virginity but also about her race. Oops!

The ad's caption, "Dump Your Pen Friend", is a sideways remark about her race, while "Free Text Virgin to Virgin" makes certain assumptions about her sexual activities (or lack thereof). Chang and her family aren't too happy about the campaign and are going after Virgin Mobile for damages.

From The Inquirer via Fark

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Yahoo! Photos Begins its Fade Out

by Tim Stevens, posted Jun 15th 2007 at 10:47AM

It's been a long time coming, but Yahoo! is finally starting to shut down its Yahoo! Photos service. The photo-sharing Web site, which let users upload an unlimited number of pictures, was put on death row in March of 2005 when Yahoo! purchased Flickr, the insanely popular photo-sharing site that integrates some social networking goodness into its model and is also extremely blogger-friendly.

Yahoo! Photos users are being encouraged to migrate over to Flickr accounts, but are also being given the option to move their pictures over to competing sites, including Snapfish and Photobucket. And for those who don't feel like moving, there's even an option to have a CD of your memories burned and mailed out to you. How terribly, terribly low-tech.

From TechCrunch

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UFO Terrorizes Flickr Photo Site

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 24th 2007 at 12:36PM

A user on Flickr, rajman1977, has stirred up a bit of interest with a series of photos called "Bizarre Thing in Sky".

The photos were supposedly taken by rajman while visiting his fiance's parents in California. They show what he describes as a "bizarre thing in [the] sky." It gets more interesting: Last month, someone names Chad claimed he saw a similar object while hiking near Lake Tahoe, a sighting he shared on Coast to Coast, George Noory's paranormal radio show site.

We're guessing Chad and rajman1977 are probably the same person, or they at least know one another.

Sure, it's probably a fake, but the crazy part is the photo-manipulation frenzy the image has started on Flickr from just about anybody with a decent photo-editing program like Photoshop.

To prove just how easy it is to make something fake, one user went through the trouble of recreating the "UFO" with computer-generated graphics. In an hour and a half, he had a more convincing space craft than either Chad or Rajman.The object looks to be about the size of a bicycle, is way too clear in most of the photos, and honestly looks like a prop from the '70s version of 'Battlestar Galactica.'

One dead give away is this photo, where part of the power line simply disappears making it appear as if the craft is below the power lines. The photo is likely the work of a skilled, but amateur PhotoShopper.

Several people have suggested that this is part of a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming 'Transformers' film. There is a stark similarity between the font on the craft to that of the robots in the film. However, we believe that the studio could probably afford a better fake.

From Boing Boing

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The Internet Umbrella

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 17th 2007 at 5:02PM

It's raining, it's pouring the old man is . . . surfing the Internet? If he's an old Japanese man, then it's entirely possible. Conceived in the research labs at Japan's Keio University, the prototype Pileus Internet Umbrella is, as it sounds, an umbrella that's connected to the Web. The umbrella's shaft houses a tiny projector that beams Internet content to the canopy's underside via its Wi-Fi/HSDPA connection.

Rain dodgers can watch YouTube vids, view Flickr streams or even upload their own Flickr photos with the built-in camera. A GPS receiver and digital compass interact with Google Earth to provide a real-time, birds-eye map view of whatever street the user is walking down.

Though at this time, the umbrella is just a prototype, a company has spun out of Keio University to develop the Pileus as a consumer product. That's a great idea assuming there's a customer base out there that likes to spend extended periods of time playing the rain. Unfortunately, Gene Kelly is a goner.

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From OhGizmo!

Flickr-Proof Yourself

by Tom Conlon, posted Apr 27th 2007 at 7:00AM

How often does this happen to you? You wake up after a long night of hard, hard drinking. Head hurts, you smell like a landfill and the guy from 'Memento' could do a better job than you of remembering what happened last night.

You show up to work, check e-mail and find that a snap-happy friend has gone ahead and posted embarrassing -- and quite possibly criminal -- pictures of last night's antics onto one of those photo-sharing sites, such as Flickr, Kodak EasyShare Gallery or Snapfish.

Take back the night!

FlickrBlockers are a pair of gag glasses mounted with one of those big black bars that covers your eyes, which protects your anonymity and helps avoid predicaments like this one that you find yourself in all too often. The glasses (which you can actually see through) sell for $9.99 a pop, plus another $2 for shipping.

From Cool Hunting

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Free Photoshop Express Gets Updated, Adds Slideshows

How to 'Geotag' Your Photos

Flickr Buys Donuts for 20,000 Anti-Protesters

Nikon Debuts Slim, Wi-Fi-friendly Fashion Camera

Hands-On With New Flickr Video

Girl Dumps Boyfriend Via Facebook Status Message

New Jack Black Film 'Destroys' the Internet

Twitter Users Tracking the Latest California Fire News

Stolen Laptop Self-Uploads Photo of Suspect to Web

Virgin Mobile Steals Teen's Flickr Photo For Ad Campaign

Yahoo! Photos Begins its Fade Out

UFO Terrorizes Flickr Photo Site

The Internet Umbrella

Flickr-Proof Yourself

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