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!
Project ROME allows users to create multimedia documents and presentations. ROME can also be used to create quizzes and to design websites. Users can build documents that include images, videos, and animations. Animations can be imported from an existing file or created from scratch within ROME. Resizing of elements within any project in ROME is a simple matter of drag and drop resizing. Arranging elements is also a drag and drop process. Adding elements to a project in ROME is done by selecting from a large series of drop-down menus. Some parts of using ROME are quite intuitive, but as you might expect with a program that has many features, there are parts of ROME that will require you to follow a tutorial the first time you try it. Watch the video below for an overview of Project ROME.
"Interoperability is important to Web designers," the W3C said in releasing the results. "Good test suites drive interoperability.
They're a key part of making sure Web standards are implemented correctly and consistently
True. I personally feel it is very important to cater to your desired audience and not risk our audience missing certain fuctions or informations in the website.
Internet Explorer 9 has topped all other browsers in conforming with the HTML5 specification, including Google Chrome and
Firefox,
W3C pitted the just-released version of IE9's developer platform preview against Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari, evaluating the five browsers in dozens of
tests across seven categories of features
IE9 scored 100% in five of the seven categories, including audio, video and XHTML5. Chrome scored 100% in four categories, whereas Firefox and Opera scored 100% in three categories and Safari did so in only
two
despite excitement over HTML5, the specification may not be ready for prime time. A W3C official recently said it's too
early for Web sites to deploy HTML5 because of interoperability issues.
Blog > Putting Together an Effective Portfolio
Putting Together an Effective Portfolio
most freelancers with a decent body of work nowadays will also have an online presence, used, in the main, to display their work. Take as much care with your online portfolio as you would your physical one. Strive for a uniformity and dynamism in your photography of projects, and make sure that images and pdfs saved from the computer are of sufficiently high and consistent resolution. Write concise, foolproof explanations to accompany the work and organise it all in an intuitive level-based fashion, much as you would a website. Sites like Flickr and View Creatives go some way to aiding the freelancer in this professional-feeling endeavour, but you’ll still need to pour energy and vim into the whole enterprise to create the right appearance.
Useful Top Tips
Keep things small. A portfolio any larger than A3 is really too big
Keep things clean & uncrumpled
Loose-leaf sheets are better than ring-bound sleeves
Assembling a portfolio should not be a one-off exercise, but a dynamic and continual process
Request and absorb other people’s comments and allow this information to flow back into the way you maintain your portfolio
Interleave your loose-leaf sheets with a bold and dazzling substrate, though choose something that doesn’t overpower the work contained within
If you choose to carry your portfolio on a laptop, for pity’s sake avoid using Powerpoint in your presentations!
1) Flash CS5 – At the moment is probably the most complete solution. The packager for iOS allows you to compile apps on the windows platform. If you’ve been using flash you can rejoice in Apple’s latest policy, it performs well, but don’t expect highest performance games, and Papervision to run in here. No mac required.
2) Airplay SDK – The airplay SDK allows you to create games, and sign your app on Windows PC’s. I have not tested this solution, but apparently many apps have been created this way.
Both these solutions can compile to code that is native to the iPhone right on your windows PC and many apps available in the app store have been created using them.
3) Unity 3D – Game development engine and editor that utilizes Boo and C# and the editor works on both Windows and Mac.
4) Stonetrip S3D – Game develop engine and editor utilizing LUA, the editor runs within Windows.
These game engines allow you to develop your apps on Windows, but you’ll need a Mac to test/compile.
3) Appcelerator Titanium – This is a good solution, and has a very popular and vibrant community. Apps are limited in performance because while they can be compiled as native apps and sent into the app store they are html/javascript based.
4) Genuitec MobiOne – This is an interface designer that uses the Phonegap framework to deliver native functionality. It only runs on windows. HTML/Javascript based.
These solutions allow you to create apps using web technologies (HTML/CSS/Javascript) and then run them through an Objective-C framework that responds to actions within a UIWebView, thus allowing you to access native functionality on the iPhone. These frameworks are free.
5)Dragonfire SDK – An interesting option that allows you to develop apps using their SDK on windows. Then you send them your uncompiled source which they compile and you download the compiled iOS application file. I’ve been asked if this means they get a copy of your uncompiled source code.. I couldn’t tell you that, I just know that you have to upload your code for compiliation to their website — but hey you wanted to develop iPhone apps on Windows. Overall this is a wrapper, I like the syntax and it’s pretty popular so I’ll mention it.
To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power.
The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.
Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover.
letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.
Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications.
But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
According to steve the no. 1 reason Apple not supporting Flash is that it does not support multiple touch screen when most modern device is supporting.
ith a robust page/view mechanism supporting transitions, UI elements, dead-simple navigation, and list management, the jQuery Mobile framework provides everything you need to get up and running quickly with a mobile-savvy website or application without a complete crash-course in a new development model.
In the next version of Dreamweaver, we plan to allow easy creation of a jQuery Mobile project and easy insert objects to let you build out your user interfaces quickly and with confidence. Greatly expanded jQuery code hinting will help professionals make the best use of their time and enable designers to more effectively understand the syntax and structure of jQuery. Combined with the WebKit-powered Live View introduced in Dreamweaver CS4, you’ll be armed with some of the most powerful tools available to help your clients and projects move swiftly into a multiscreen world.
jQuery goes mobile. Simple attributes applied to basic elements are all you need, and the jQuery Mobile API offers endless possibilities to those who wish to go under the hood.
Name URL Description AU2Go http://m.adelphi.edu Adelphi University's full fledged app suite made to rival iStanford eSudoku http://sudoku.rectang.com/iphone/ A daily sudoku game of varying difficulty with leaderboard iLounge http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/iui Independent resource for all things iPod, iTunes and beyond iRibbit http://iribbit.com eBay on the iPhone iMobMail http://www.imobmail.org/ Webmail for the iPod touch and iPhone iViewr http://www.iviewr.com Browse and view popular attractions, events, and travel information on your iPhone NHL.app http://nhlapp.com/ NHL Game Information Presbytery of the Pacific Churches http://www.presbyteryofthepacific.org/iphone/index.html Readdle http://readdle.com/ A simple way to access your files with iPhone / iPod Touch Synod of Southern California and Hawaiian Churches http://www.synod.org/iphone/index.html Wachusett Youth Flag Football http://www.wachusettflagfootball.com/iphone Community Sports Website
Although the iPad and the older iPod touch doesn't have a camera, there are two ways that it can read a QR code.
1. Code embedded in website
2. Printed Code
Here's what they learned, based on users' feedback, preferences and complaints: Touchable areas are often too small, too close, not easy enough to discern.
Historypin is a non-profit website and mobile app aimed at sparking inter-generational conversation and interest in history. The concept is simple: It uses Google Maps to “pin” old photographs to their location.
With the continued penetration of smartphones into the mainstream market, QR codes are becoming more of an option for designers to prompt interaction. The two-dimensional barcode can easily be generated from text, including a website link, and printed on materials in magazines and conferences. An artist in Paris found an unusual use for the black-and-white squares: to animate a tattoo.
Ok, I think this isn't ever going to make it into ANY school... but this is an amazing concept of how we can use QR codes to enhance real-world art in education... i.e. cyberspace meets meat-space (literally).
An idea that I gained from this is that we could use this idea for, say, a printed picture book... if we scanned the QR code in the printed page using our iPhones, the moment the video loaded, we could just place our iPhones directly over the printed page, and it would give a compelling illusion that the printed page had suddenly come to life a la Harry Potter. :)
BTW do watch the video from 2:05 onwards! :) (esp if you're squeamish about watching a tattoo process)
Now, for an iPad-sized tattoo... any takers? ;) (Just kidding!)
Another idea: Imagine we were doing a bio lesson and wanted our students to "see" a beating heart. We could get a mannequin and paste QR codes over the chest. Then the teacher can scan the QR code, load the corresponding Youtube video and place the mobile phone directly over the chest. The result would look to the students as though the phone was a magic window for them to peer through the chest to "see" the beating heart.
So QR codes could be used for 3D object lessons too.
nice idea. Especially we have so many website and portal everywhere ..now all in one page but there something I question myself... Would it be another portal to market to the people here before they actually get used to it..hmm
posted Jul 15th 2010 8:34PM 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.
Chee Ted Shing on 22 Oct 10Sony NEX-VG10 HD camcorder The system may be suitable for our needs. Its a camcorder with multiple changeable lens ( wide, zoom or tele lens)
