The Olympus OM-D E-M10 was announced about a month ago, the third addition to the digital revival of the OM line. It lacks the weather sealing of its siblings but inherits a number of excellent features from the existing OM-D models. Sound enticing? We’ve gotten familiar with the E-M10 over the past few weeks. The full review is on the way but for now, read our shooter’s report, and compare the E-M10 to a growing list of cameras in our new studio test scene.
I often get asked what my favourite age to photograph is, and although my honest answer is “it’s difficult to choose’. I would have to say that photographing babies, (especially newborns) is a magical experience. Being part of those first days of life and sharing the journey with the parents at such a special time […]
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[ By Steph in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
Some might say that if you aren’t experiencing the atmosphere of a story while you’re reading, the author hasn’t done her job. But we’ve all read a book that we loved so much, we wished we could experience more of it, feel as if we were actually a part of the story as it was happening. That’s now possible with ‘Sensory Fiction,’ a digitally-augmented prototype book that comes with a sense-stimulating harness that’ll squeeze you or change your body temperature at the right moments.
Much like 4D films, which let you feel and smell the plot with moving seats and other sensory experiences, ‘Sensory Fiction’ makes the body a more active part of the process of taking in a story. Created by students at the MIT Media Lab for a class called ‘Science Fiction to Science Fabrication,’ the book and harness set aims to bring more excitement to the average written story.
It works through a combination of networked sensors and actuators. The book senses which page the reader is on to flash LED lights or play certain sounds that go along with that part of the plot. Meanwhile, the wearable component senses the reader’s heart rate and offers a gentle squeeze, vibration, changing temperatures and other forms of physical feedback.
The story selected for the prototype, ‘The Girl Who Was Plugged In’ by James Tiptree, was chosen because it showcases a wide range of emotions in a variety of environments, providing lots of opportunities for those sensory ‘extras.’ Can you imagine wearing one of these while reading a particularly scary horror story?
Touch input has already almost entirely eliminated the need for physical keyboards and mouses, but soon, it won’t even be confined to a screen. …
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Futuristic home gadgets that scan your hand to make your ideal cup of coffee, iron clothes without heat while you’re wearing them and mix the perfect cocktail.
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Society is in a digital age and paper books are being left behind. Artists are fighting the tide by bringing books into their own as gorgeous works of art.
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[ By Steph in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
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CES 2014: Every year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Pepcom holds a ‘Digital Experience’ showcase event before the main show opens, to showcase the best of the technology that is being exhibited. It’s also a good opportunity for informal meetings, networking and general gawking at cool new things before the noise and fury of the main event in Las Vegas Convention Center. And did we mention it’s also really strange? This year’s theme was the Wizard of Oz. Our intrepid editorial team were there.
Following last week’s update to the Canon EOS 70D preview, we’ve been spending a little more time with the camera to get a feel for its new Dual Pixel CMOS phase-detect autofocus system. What we’ve seen so far has impressed us: in live view the camera offers very responsive AF, eliminating the annoying focus seek we’ve seen in past models. We have a complete rundown, with samples, on how the Dual Pixel AF performs in both live view and movie mode, as well as a brief studio and low light analysis. Click through to read our review-in-progress.
What’s it like to be aboard a photographic expedition to Antarctica? Find out by watching our new free 23- minute-long HD streaming video.
Fuji has updated the firmware for the X-Pro 1 and several lenses to allow for improved autofocus as well as adding focus peaking during manual focus, along with other enhancements.
"Yes I downloaded the videos. THEY ARE AWESOME!!!
I learned so much I think my brain is going to explode.
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]
Fans wanting to fully experience the world of LEGO are sure to marvel at this newly-revealed hometown headquarters – the whole complex is being build up like a giant stack of interlocked bricks.
Designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and set to be built in Billund, Denmark, the structure will have displays, cafes and shops surrounded by a public square.
Between interior and exterior areas, the completed project will have close to 10,000 square meters of programmed and open space, and its creators anticipate 250,000 annual visitors.
The building will showcase past, present and near-future LEGO designs, but also artwork made from LEGOs and other cultural phenomena beyond its original uses.
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A new app asks users to step back into the darkroom as it offers digital equivalents of the developing process. Koloid (available for $ 0.99 in the iOS App Store) is inspired by 19th century’s wet-plate collodion photography. The app creates a unique texture and exposure on a black and white image. Koloid takes a little longer than most camera apps but it also gives the satisfaction of using something other than a one-touch filter. We give it a go on connect.dpreview.com.
As a fan of the new Flickr redesign, I’ve been particularly impressed with how fast so many images load — an impressive feat given the new image rich, justified, mosaic view, with infinite scroll. Seeing more images, faster, invites more engagement and makes the site a more compelling place to visit. I think Flickr engineers have done a lot of optimizing behind the scenes and are continuing to tweak the site in new ways to make it even faster.
There are some users in the Flickr Help Forum, however, who moan about the newer version of Flickr being slow for them. While it makes some sense to me that a more image intensive design would impact speed, as fast as the new Flickr is for me, (on both my own account and other test accounts), I think there is more to it than just that.
In a new image intensive internet, companies can’t always design and optimize for the lowest common denominator. At some point engineers and designers must just let the Internet Explore 6.0 crowd go. If they haven’t upgraded by now, it now becomes their problem not yours.
Staying on top of the most current technology can help optimize your internet experience. Some of these things that I’m doing are free and some cost money. I do understand that not everybody has the money to just go out and buy a new computer and am not suggesting that it’s your responsibility to do all of these things. These are just some ideas that might help you make your internet experience better and faster.
1. Upgrade your computer. My rule is that I upgrade my primary computer (a MacBook Pro) every three years. As a heavy computer user (and as someone who makes money from my photography and must consider time as a resource in that), this is a no brainer. If it’s been over three years, and you can afford it, consider buying a new machine. Get a Mac. 
2. Upgrade your computer’s operating system. I’m currently running the latest version of Apple’s OS Mountain Lion, Mac OS 10.8.3 10.8.4. Make sure you are using whatever is the most current OS for your machine.
3. Consider your internet connection. Are you getting the fastest possible speeds? Years ago when I was on DSL, it was announced that they were putting U-verse fiber into the neighborhood. I was the first guy to jump on that and make sure I got it. Survey each of the internet service providers in your neighborhood and find out what their upload/download speeds are. Don’t stop there though. Also make sure you are on the fastest plan that they offer. The U-verse plan that I have is their Max Turbo and provides 24 Mbps download speeds. Consider the value of your time and make sure you are on the fastest plan possible from your ISP.
4. FREE! Make sure you are running the latest version of Google’s Chrome browser. Once you finally get rid of IE, Safari or Firefox, you will learn to love Chrome — it’s faster and better.
5. FREE! Change your DNS settings to Google’s public DNS, 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 A lot of people don’t know about this trick, but it will dramatically speed up your internet. Google gives you instructions on how to do this here.
6. If you use your computer remotely a lot (like I do) in places where you don’t always have good, fast, wifi, consider getting a Sprint 4G card. Heavy computer internet surfing takes a lot more bandwidth than cell phones. Using your cell phone to tether to your computer probably works if you just need an occasional log in (I use FoxFi for this on my Android phone which is free) — but this data counts towards your bandwidth limits. Sprint is the only current wireless provider that I’m aware of that offers truly unlimited, unthrottled mobile bandwidth in the U.S. Their 4G service, is a bit more expensive, but is generally speaking very reliable and very fast.
Disclaimer: Obviously people will have different experiences at different Apple stores at different times. This is just a single experience, in a single store, at a single point in time.
Today is my daughter Holly’s birthday. She’s been asking for an iPad for her birthday for months. I’ve been telling her that an iPad is too expensive, but I broke down yesterday after work and stopped by the Union Square Apple Store in San Francisco to buy her one. She was thrilled and ecstatic to receive it — can you tell by her photo above 
I’ve purchased many things at many different Apple Stores over the years, but yesterday’s experience was so fluid and flawless that I thought I’d write a short post about it.
5pm (approximately) I walk into the store. I don’t get more than two feet into the store before making eye contact with an Apple employee strategically positioned by the door. “Welcome to Apple,” he says. “Can I help you something?”
“I’d like to buy an iPad,” I reply.
“Ok, great,” he says. “Would you like an iPad or an iPad Mini?”
“I’d like an iPad,” I reply.
“Ok, do you just want the basic 16GB one?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, hold on, I’ll be right back.”
Less than two minutes later he returns with a new iPad in a shrink wrapped box.
“Would you like to put this on a credit card?”
“Yes,” handing him my American Express.
“Can I see your ID?”
I hand him my drivers license, he confirms it’s me, hands it back, says thanks and runs my card through a hand held device.
While the device is running the card he asks me, “are you buying your iPad for business or pleasure?”
I tell him that it’s for my daughter’s birthday. “Great,” he says.
A few seconds later he hands me his electronic device and asks me to sign it with my finger. I sign it with my finger.
“Would you like a printed copy of your receipt, or is just an email fine,” he asks. (God I HATE printed receipts, email receipts are sooooo awesome!).
I tell him that an email is perfect. “Ok,” he confirms, “to tom(at)thomashawk.com.”
“That would be great,” I answer back.
“Alright we’re all set then,” he says, “do you need a bag?”
“No,” I reply, “thanks for the help,” and put the iPad into my own bag and walk out the store — and just like that, four minutes later, I’m done.
This morning I received a follow up survey in my email about my experience at the Apple store. How could I not give them the highest possible ranking in every category?
Being able to walk into a store and purchase something right there at the entrance in less than five minutes is the absolute height of customer service. It’s delighting a customer who will certainly remember that experience the next time it comes to making a purchase and who will be back. No wonder so many people are buying Apple products.