Well,
that was quick. Right after yesterday's surprising announcement,
Sony flew its yet-to-be-released NEX-VG10 camcorder into London just in time for
today's showcase event. Naturally, we had to get our hands on this shiny baby,
and boy we were impressed. In case you missed the news, this snazzy device is
the world's first consumer HandyCam with interchangeable lens, meaning you can
share E-mount lenses with your young NEX DSLRs, or take advantage of
the abundant A-mount lenses with the help of an adapter (which will cost you
extra, mind you). Likewise, there are also hot and cold shoe mounts on the mic
shaft to cater your current camera accessories. Read on for our thoughts on the
rest of the camcorder -- we've put together a little sample clip for you at the
end as well.
There
isn't much to complain about with this $2,000 (and, sadly, possibly £2,000 for
the Brits) piece of kit in terms of appearance and ergonomics. We like being
able to hold it by either the seemingly solid body (using the strap) or the mic
shaft, and both ways provided comfortable grip without much fatigue due to the
light weight (even with the bundled lens). We were also able to quickly master
the jog-dial control next to the 3-inch screen, but for this price, we expected
a touchscreen interface as well to make life easier. As for the bundled F3.5-6.3
18-200mm lens, we found that zooming required a bit more effort than we liked,
so thankfully there's auto focus mode -- just like any ordinary camcorder -- to
save us from further wrist work with the focus ring. We must also point out that
unlike the Olympus PEN,
this Sony camcorder didn't pick up any mechanical noise from its lens auto
focussing; otherwise, this kit totally wouldn't deserve such price tag.
Of
course, what we really care about is the picture and sound quality. All is
revealed in our sample reel below (remember to enable HD playback mode), but in
brief: stunningly accurate colors, sharp 1080/60i picture, and impressive audio
sensitivity (notice how the mic was able to pick up conversations from afar; you
can also enable just the front mics to minimise background noise). You may
notice some shakiness while we were adjusting the lens -- we'll blame it on our
lack of practice from the little hands-on time we had. Regardless, the NEX-VG10
certainly lived up to our expectation, and we look forward to hear what the
filming hobbyists think of this prosumer-level camcorder when it comes out in
September.
Update: commenter
aim120 dropped us a link to Sony's own sample clip. Enjoy!
To be effective
at improving productivity and content retention, mobile learning
content must take a different form from what has gone before. And it
is content — content fit for the mobile learning purpose — that
will drive market growth.
there are two types of user for mobile learning —
the “considered” user and the “trigger” user.
The considered user
downloads and views learning material
The trigger user
responds to contextual situations that require action
know what
know-how
Mobile learning is
also best focused around “inflection points.” These are times
during the week where there is no opportunity to redo the task, and
where high performance is vital. Examples of inflection points
include issuing a verbal warning to an employee, conducting a meaty
interview, and doing a key client review.
the
idea of learning separated by an extended period of time from the
“Event,” when a person actually attempts to use the learning has
to be challenged. Few learners today want the information weeks and
even months in advance. They actually would like to have specific
top-of-mind and refresher learning “on-demand” minutes or even
seconds before they will need to use it.
Above, you can see an image of my screen while reading a PDF titled The Internet of things: Networked objects and smart devices. I highlighted the name of a company quoted in the report and with two quick clicks I was watching a YouTube video of a product demo. I highlighted an expert's name and was able to learn all about their career and find them on Twitter - without leaving the page.
Scribd says it's working on a native iPad experience for its service, but that won't arrive until later this year or next year.
CGSociety :: Game Production Focus
26 August 2010, by Paul Hellard
In creating the latest Facebook smash hit casual game, 3DVIA wanted to make something that was "just beautiful to have in front of you." David Laubner, the VP of Online Marketing at 3DVIA, says loudly and with conviction, "It's all about the artwork!"
"
An article which provides an interview of Paul Laubner, the VP of Online Marketing 3DVIA on their Billions, a social gaming on Facebook. It does talk about the important of its artwork and to tell the truth, the characters that were drawn and modeled are awesome.
90 HTC Desires to its agents to help clean up the trash in the city. Basically, it uses the GPS in the phone to report people that have let their bins overflow, or if a company has failed to pick up the trash. The application allows the agents to send a voice comment, photo, and the GPS Location of the offending site.
Digital Cosmetic Mirror by industry giant Shiseido can be used to test make-up and recommendations without even having to pick up a mascara brush
Using augmented reality to do sampling is a novel way to involve consumers, and can be a useful technology for saving on waste
The terminal then gives you tailored recommendations. Pressing a few buttons on the touch-screen paints make-up onto your image in realtime, allowing you to see the results instantly. You also try out make-up that is currently making waves, along with printing out before and after photos with product information for you to go make the purchase of whichever colors caught your eye the most.
Apple loosened its iOS terms of service to allow the usage of third-party development tools. Though Flash content is still not supported within the iOS browser, the Packager for iPhone can now be used to create standalone apps. Adobe also confirmed that it will work hard to keep the product updated. This change of heart by Apple has brought joy to Flash developers everywhere as their Packager-created apps are now reportedly being approved by Apple
The software, which is called “Find my iPhone,”will be offered at no charge for customers who have upgraded to the latest iOS 4.2 mobile software. In the past this feature was bundled into the Mobile Me suite, which costs $100 a year.
There are also a number of free products that enable tracking a lost mobile phone on the Google Android platform.
App of the Week: Find My iPhone
By Doug Aamoth on November 23, 2010
The free Find My iPhone app locates any of your connected Apple products running the latest iOS 4.2 software and displays them on a map.
if your device gets lost or stolen, download the Find My iPhone app to an iPhone 4, 4th-generation iPod Touch, or iPad and sign into the app using the same MobileMe credentials that you used on your missing device.
You'll then see your forlorn iPhone on a map and can remotely lock it, delete all the data, or send a message to the screen asking for it to be returned. If it's lost somewhere in your couch cushions, you can also have it play a loud two-minute alert sound even if it's been set to silent.
Another glimpse of LMS provided by local vendor partner with Moodle plus SCORM 2004 3rd edition compliant, a requirement by MOE. Singtel is also the partner.
A revolution in Flash game production. An amazing new way for man to interface with machine. The beginning of a new tomorrow. Never before has the world witnessed such a collection of AS3 files. We put it all in the new flixel 2. Groups to help organize game objects, quad trees for faster, more accurate collisions, a cleaner API, plus all the old flixel classics: animated sprites, tilemaps, and particle emitters. Most importantly, flixel is still completely free for personal or commercial use
Display Hundreds of Objects at Once
Create Tilemaps from Text Files or Images
Generate and Emit Particles for Hot Effects
Play Positional, Streaming, Looping Sounds
Scroll Objects or Groups in Parallax
Text Display, Buttons and Mouse Cursors
Save Games, Math Utiltities and Collisions
Pure ActionScript 3 is Fun and Free!
Social learning has
taken on a kind of religious fervor among learning practitioners
during the past couple of years—and not without good reason. It
often creates more powerful and enduring learning experiences; it
helps people establish and leverage social connections to accelerate
the distribution and sharing of experiences, content, and guidance;
and it allows learners to be more productive, learn faster, and work
smarter.
it’s easy to lose focus on what
matters, and to assume the end game is the technology
A social learning strategy should paint
a compelling picture of the future state, clearly articulate the
business case for change, and outline the roadmap for how you will
get from “here” to “there” (including what must change, stop,
and continue)
Social learning, at its core, is a
network of communities. This network is usually formed and accessed
through the use of social media. The community
network provides the “path” for an effective flow of information.
A community network
is the primary source of advice, methods, leading practices, lessons
learned, and innovation. It’s the “repository” of content,
experience, and intelligence that enables people to learn, develop,
and excel at work. The effectiveness and usefulness of the community
network is a function of its size and make-up.
A new generation of
learning is here. Today, employees are working in a very fast-paced
environment and they need learning that is immediate, relevant, and
delivered in the context of their work. Social media won’t do the
job alone. Organizations must embrace social learning and
adopt the leading practices presented in this article if they want
their employees to keep their company on the cutting edge. Social
learning works when it is born from a well thought-out
strategy, is made up of mature community networks, is fueled by
motivated members, is a resource of great content, and is guided by
meaningful metrics. Take some of the ideas presented in this article
and start implementing them now.
Daqri is a new service for creating augmented reality layers for your mobile devices. Daqri will enable users to create augmented reality products without writing any code.
nyone will be able to create and deploy mobile learning content with our easy-to-use mLearning Studio; choose templates, add text, images, audio, video and quizzes, then publish. The content is delivered in a fully HTML5 compatible mobile course player with cross-platform support for iPhone, iPad, and Android (2.2 and higher); support for Blackberry coming soon.
Frito-Lay decided to launch a multi stage campaign which would entice people to become fans on their new Facebook page. They did this so effectively that they set a Guiness World Record for the most fans on Facebook in 24hours!
fter a live cooking demonstration in New York Times Square created media buzz, customers were given free bags of chips if they registered on a special product giveaway site and liked the page.
Staying focused on a task is hard can be hard in this digital world with your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and surfing Web, email eating up your time. If you like you can read up on applying Pomodoro technique to get the best out of the situation. Get the free PDF here.:)
New study reveals the prime motivators behind why people follow brands
If you’re still looking to justify your social media activity to the board, perhaps the following stat will help: 97% of people say that social media has influenced their decision to make a purchase of a brand or product.
Pretty emphatic. And one of several very interesting findings from the team at get satisfaction. They’ve recently released a new infographic on why people follow brands. If part of your role is encouraging people to follow your brand, then it’s worth having a look.