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Lifehacker - 50 Swanky Icon Sets for Macs - Customization

2009-05-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker - 50 Swanky Icon Sets for Macs - Customization: "50 Swanky Icon Sets for Macs
By Jason Fitzpatrick, 1:00 PM on Sat Apr 4 2009, 48,026 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

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While these eye-catching icon sets are distinctly Mac-centric, many of them are filled with stunning pieces that could be easily co-opted for another operating system.

Over at AppStorm, a blog focused on Mac applications, they've compiled 50 great Mac icon sets. The eye candy factor is off the chart, and non-Mac readers will be tempted to snag some of the pickings. Previously reviewed LiteIcons is a great freeware solution for installing and managing your Mac's icons, but if you want to use them in Windows or Linux, you'll need to do a little tweaking. Check out web based iConvert to covert a wide variety of icon formats and IcoFX if you're working in Windows.
50 Unusually Awesome Icon Sets for Mac [AppStorm]"

구글에 도전장 10대 검색엔진 뜬다 ::: easy guide 리뷰조선 :::

2009-05-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

구글에 도전장 10대 검색엔진 뜬다 ::: easy guide 리뷰조선 :::: "구글에 도전장 10대 검색엔진 뜬다
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미국 경제전문지 포브스는 25일 세계 최대의 검색 엔진 구글에 도전장을 내고 있는 캘리포니아주 실리콘밸리 등지의 10대 검색 엔진을 선정, 소개했다.

포브스는 검색 시장에서 구글의 영향력은 여전하지만 틈새 시장 등을 노린 신생 업체들은 특화된 검색 시장을 노리고 성장세를 지속하며 벤처투자자들의 주목을 받고 있다고 평가했다.

포브스에 따르면 미 캘리포니아주 라이크닷컴(LIKE.COM)은 2004년 ‘안면 인식’ 장비로 출발한뒤 쇼핑 검색 엔진 등으로 영역을 확장해 가고 있으며 5천만달러의 벤처투자 자금을 끌어들였다.

검색 엔진인 바크닷컴(VARK.COM)은 ‘우리 동네에서 가장 좋은 치과 병원은 어디인가’ 등 고객의 문의 사항에 응답해 주는 기능을 개발했고 벤처자금 700만달러를 유치했다.
차차닷컴(CHACHA.COM)은 고객의 문의 사항을 문자 메시지 등을 통해 5만5천곳의 가이드에게 연결시켜 주는 프로그램을 갖추고 있다.

쿨닷컴(CUIL.COM)은 구글에 가장 가까운 스타일의 검색 엔진으로 불린다. 경쟁업체들에 비해 관련 사이트 등을 3배 가량 많이 보유하고 있으며 지금까지 3천600만달러의 벤처자금을 모았다.

구글에 도전하는 신생 검색 엔진 가운데는 전문 용어 검색에 뛰어나거나 특화된 분야를 가진 사이트들이 대거 망라돼 있다.

포브스는 특히 지스트 닷컴(GIST.COM), 코스믹스닷컴(KOSMIX.COM), 파워셋닷컴(POWERSET.COM), 서치트위터닷컴(SEARCH.TWITTER.COM), 질로우닷컴(ZILLOW.COM), 월프럼알파닷컴(WOLFRAMALPHA.COM) 등을 주목 대상으로 꼽았다."

MacBook Users: Turn off This Bluetooth Default Setting Now | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

2009-05-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

MacBook Users: Turn off This Bluetooth Default Setting Now | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: "MacBook Users: Turn off This Bluetooth Default Setting Now

* By Brian X. Chen Email Author
* May 8, 2009 |
* 9:59 am |
* Categories: Notebooks

Last night I discovered an incredibly dumb — and what I consider to be dangerous — setting enabled by default in my unibody MacBook Pro. In the Bluetooth preferences, it’s the box checkmarked “Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer.” Sounds innocent enough, but it could’ve killed my computer.

picture-2Here’s what happened: I was in a rush to leave the office to meet a colleague for coffee, so I closed my MacBook Pro and threw my Bluetooth mouse into my laptop bag. After my coffee meeting, I ended up at a bar and took my notebook out to quickly check my e-mail. It was scalding hot all over, and when I opened the lid I was greeted with the gray screen of death. And I realized my notebook, though closed, was still on for hours — the heat insulated by my bag.

After checking the Apple support forums I found a thread where a user reported the exact same problem, and it turned out it was because his Bluetooth mouse was left on in his bag, too; he remedied the issue by unchecking the default Bluetooth setting. I was relieved that the solution was so simple, but I was still pretty concerned that this was a default setting in the first place.

Imagine if I hadn’t checked my notebook for a few more hours. That could’ve caused a serious burn injury, or at worst, a fire. True, it was my own negligence to not turn off my Bluetooth mouse before throwing it in my bag, but I think it’s reasonable to assume many people have done the same thing. (Heck, I often don’t turn off my Bluetooth mouse when it’s on my desk at home, as it shuts down when it’s inactive. Clearly it’s not the same when your mouse is in your bag and you’re keeping it on by walking around.)

Also, I say it’s unintelligent that this feature is turned on by default because for notebooks, it’s useless. Usually when we sleep our notebooks, we close the lid. On a MacBook, opening the lid wakes it back up automatically. There’s no need to use the Bluetooth mouse to wake up the notebook. This setting should certainly not be turned on by default.

MacBook users? If you own a Bluetooth mouse, disable this setting now. Have you seen any other strange settings turned on by default that I should disable? Feel free to point them out in the comments below."

[주간조선] 오세훈 시장과 동대문디자인플라자 설계자 자하 하디드 - 1등 인터넷뉴스 조선닷컴

2009-05-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

"오세훈 시장과 동대문디자인플라자 설계자 자하 하디드

* 박세미 기자 runa@chosun.com

입력 : 2009.05.04 17:42 / 수정 : 2009.05.05 10:44

하디드 '역사 살아있는 서울 풍경에 깜짝 놀라'
오시장 '도시 브랜드 높일 랜드마크 만들려면…'
<이 기사는 주간조선 2054호에 게재되었습니다.>

‘디자인 플라자’와 ‘디자인 서울’을 말하다

서울시의 가장 큰 ‘야심작’이 첫 삽을 떴다. 서울시는 4월 28일 오전 중구 을지로 옛 동대문운동장 부지에서 ‘동대문디자인플라자&파크(DDP)’ 착공식을 가졌다. ‘동대문디자인플라자&파크’는 6만5232㎡(약 1만9732평) 부지에 건립될 거대 ‘문화복합단지’다.

‘동대문디자인플라자&파크’에 대한 오세훈(48) 서울시장의 기대는 유난히 각별하다. 이해당사자(노점·입점 상인 등)들과의 격렬한 갈등 해결에 많은 공을 들인 데다, 취임 초부터 강조한 ‘디자인 서울’ 사업의 성패를 가름할 첫 번째 시험대이기 때문이다. 오 시장 스스로도 “DDP를 서울을 상징하는 세계적 랜드마크로 건립할 것”이라며 강한 의욕을 보였다.

이날 착공식을 마친 오 시장은 ‘DDP’의 설계자 자하 하디드(Zaha Hadid·58)와 서울시청 별관 간부회의실에서 별도의 만남을 가졌다. 이라크 출신인 영국의 세계적 여류 건축가 자하 하디드는 자신의 작품 ‘환유(換喩)의 풍경’으로 지난 2007년 DDP 설계 공모전에서 1등으로 당선됐다. 오 시장과 하디드는 ‘도시와 디자인’ ‘동양적 건축과 디자인’에 대해 1시간 남짓 대화를 나눴다.

▲ photo 김승완 조선영상미디어 기자

동대문디자인플라자&파크, 과거와 미래가 만나다

오세훈 시장 “동대문디자인플라자&파크(DDP) 설계 당선작으로 자하 하디드씨의 작품이 선정된 순간 ‘아, 과거와 미래가 만날 수 있겠구나’ 하는 생각이 들었다. 근대 건축물인 동대문운동장을 허물면 그 밑에 서울성곽과 이간수문, 하도감터 등 500~600년 된 과거 건축물이 발견될 게 분명한 상황이었다. 그런데 하디드씨의 작품은 ‘페이퍼 아키텍트(paper architect)라 불릴 만큼 초현대적인 기술이 동원되는 건축물 아닌가. 결과적으로 과거와 현재가 하나의 공간에 유기적으로 공존할 수 있게 됐다. 하나를 무너뜨리면서 또 하나를 창조하는 ‘회복과 창조’의 콘셉트를 동시에 만든 셈이다.”

자하 하디드 “내가 한국을 처음 방문한 건 12~13년 전이었다. 옛 역사가 남아있는 매우 아름다운 도시여서 깜짝 놀랐고, 특히 사찰을 방문했을 때 아침 안개와 절의 평화로운 조화는 정말 인상적이었다. 이번 DDP 설계 제목을 ‘환유의 풍경’이라 한 것도 바로 이런 내 경험에서 비롯된 것이다. 나는 항상 ‘어떻게 특정한 지형을 건축물에 구현시킬 수 있을까’ ‘어떻게 하면 유동적이고 개방적인 건물을 만들 수 있을까’ 하는 생각을 해왔다. 이번 작품은 대규모 공공건물과 공원, 역사적 터가 조화롭게 어우러지는 매우 흥미로운 공간인 셈이다.”

오시장 “고마운 건 의외로 문화재청이나 문화재위원회가 ‘동대문운동장도 어쨌든 근대 역사 유적 아니냐’며 보존만을 고집하지 않았다는 점이다. 그건 바로 동대문운동장 밑에 이런 엄청난 보물들이 있다는 걸 알았기 때문일 거고, 또 하디드씨의 설계에도 이런 점이 반영됐기 때문일 것이다. 이런 역사적 회복을 어떤 양식으로 마케팅해 역사문화도시 서울의 정체성을 만들어갈지 고민이다.”

하디드 “사실 대부분의 대도시는 과거 역사로부터 단절되기 쉽다. 그래서난 이번에 역사와 문화유산을 도시 발전의 한 수단으로 수용할 수 있게끔 했다. 내가 느끼기에 동양 전통 건축은 서구와 달리 자연적인 풍경이나 지형에 굉장히 집중하는 경향이 있는 것 같다. DDP를 설계할 때도 이런 동양 특유의 공간 이용법에 주목했다. 있는 것을 없애고 새것을 짓는 대신, 여러 가지를 겹쳐내는 복잡성을 구현해 냈다는 것이다. 최대한 주변지형과 경계가 없는 건물을 만들려고 했고, 건물과 공원이 지형에 녹아들 수 있도록 했다. 이미 발굴된 역사 유적을 그 건물과 유기적으로 연계해 그 건물의 일부로 만들어야겠다는 생각도 했다.”

오시장 “내가 중요하게 생각하는 부분도 바로 그런 일종의 ‘스토리텔링’이 가능한 공간을 만드는 것이다. 이젠 감성과 무형의 가치를 파는 시대다. DDP의 스토리텔링은 과거와 현재, 동양과 서양, 가능과 불가능이라는 대립성이 한자리에서 동시에 구현되는 장소라는 점이다. 재미있는 게 하디드씨는 중동(이라크) 출신인데, 그 중동이라는 위치가 역사적으로 동양과 서양을 연결하는 하나의 길목 역할을 하지 않았는가. 이런 스토리를 공간에 입혀서 팔 수 있다면 훨씬 더 큰 부가가치를 만들어낼 수 있을 것이다.”

도시와 디자인, 서울과 디자인

오시장 “이제 도시 대 도시 간 경쟁 시대라고 할 만큼 도시의 브랜드가 중요해졌다. 앞으로 동대문 옆에 있는 이대병원이 허물어지고 디자인 연관 시설이 들어설 예정인데, 지금 매입 작업이 진행되고 있다. 디자인산업을 진작하기 위한 디자인 연계 인프라가 동대문 인근에 모두 집적되는 셈이다.”

하디드 “도시를 디자인할 때는 절대 한 가지만을 생각해선 안 된다. 중요하게 생각해야 할 점은 공간 전반을 ‘조직’해 나간다는 점이다. 일상에 영향을 미치는 디자인부터 거대한 디자인까지 다양한 스케일을 고려해야 한다. 이를 테면 ‘디자인’ 하면 컵이나 병, 집안에 놓인 가구와 집 전체 구조, 도시까지 다양한 스케일의 디자인을 생각한다. 디자이너나 건축가들에게도 각각 다양한 스타일과 야망이 있는데, 이 다양한 개성을 어떻게 도시 안에 한데 모아갈 수 있을지 생각해봐야 할 것이다.”

20년 전 도쿄의 도전과 ‘디자인 서울’

오시장 “디자인을 통해 매력이 더해지면 그 도시는 기업이 투자하고 싶은 공간, 외국인이 살고 싶은 공간이 된다. 안전하고 편리한 생활도 중요하지만, 거기에 더해 건축·디자인학적으로 앞서 있는 공간을 만들어내는 것도 도시 브랜드를 창조해 내는 데 큰 도움이 된다. 어딜 가나 한 도시의 랜드마크 건축물이나 아이콘이 필요하고, 이게 바로 그 도시의 표정과 독특한 정취를 만들기 때문이다. 그런 의미에서 나는 하디드씨의 작품이 세계 최초로 서울에 구현된다는 사실 자체가 우리 도시의 브랜드 이미지를 높여줄 것이라 생각한다. 현재 아랍에미리트 아부다비에서 만들어지고 있는 콘서트홀이 DDP 같은 부정형의 건축물인데, 우리보다 완공 시점이 1년이나 늦다. 나는 국제적인 아이콘, 도시의 랜드마크를 만들려면 반드시 ‘월드 퍼스트(world first)’ 혹은 ‘온리 원(only one)’이어야 한다는 원칙을 가지고 있다. 그래야만 세계적인 화제를 낳고 세계의 이목을 집중시켜 서울만의 브랜드를 만들어낼 수 있는 거다.”

하디드 “내 디자인 철학은 우리가 연속적이고 반복적이었던 근대와는 완전히 다른 시대를 살고 있다는 인식에서 출발한다. 근대엔 모든 사람들이 똑같이 생긴 집에 살고 똑같이 생긴 차를 타고 비슷한 옷을 입었다. 하지만 이제 우리는 특화된 사회를 살고 있고, 개개인이 특수성을 가지게 됐다. 제품이나 빌딩을 디자인할 때도 그때 그때의 환경에 적응하는 디자인을 만든다. 고정된 틀이 아닌 유동적이고 개방적이며 매끄럽게 연결되는 디자인 말이다. 특히 DDP의 구성은 굉장히 특이해서 바로 이런 환경이 자연스럽게 통합되는 모습을 보게 될 것이다. 근대의 건물과는 완전히 다른 모양이라고 할 수 있다.”

오시장 “시공이 쉬운 건축이었다면 아마 하디드씨의 작품을 선택하지 않았을 것이다. 우리들 입장에서 보면 DDP는 여러 가지 측면에서 도전과 성취의 상징이다. 그렇기 때문에 작가-시공사-서울시가 유기적으로 협조 체계를 구축해야 한다. 그렇지 않으면 그만큼 시간과 비용도 더 소요되고 많은 한계가 생길 수밖에 없다. 하디드씨의 새로운 건축물이 서울의 또 다른 브랜드가 될 수 있도록 적극 협조해 주십사 하는 말씀을 드리고 싶다.”

하디드 “서울이 디자인 중심지로 거듭나고자 하는 계획을 갖고 있는 건 매우 흥미로운 시도다. 20년 전에도 도쿄에서 서울과 비슷한 흥미로운 시도가 있었다. 전부 실현이 되진 않았지만, 전세계인들이 일본이 어떻게 하고 있는지 주목했다. 나는 도쿄가 이루지 못했던 시도들을 서울은 성공적으로 이뤄낼 거라 믿는다. 내가 느낀 동양의 특징 중 서구와 다른 인상적인 점이 있다면 일종의 ‘낙관주의’ 같은 것이다. 서울시가 이 낙관주의를 잘 활용해 전략적으로 반영했으면 좋겠다.”

?동대문디자인플라자&파크(DDP)

서울시가 총 3755억원을 들여 착공한 문화디자인복합공간. 총 6만5000여㎡ 부지에 지하 3층 지상 4층 규모로 지어지며, 플라자 건물과 공원으로 구성된다. 플라자엔 대형 컨벤션홀과 디자인숍, 박물관, 정보교육센터가 들어서며 공원엔 녹지대와 옛 역사 유적인 하도감터 등을 내려다볼 수 있는 학습장이 조성될 예정이다. 인근 흥인지문(동대문)과 연결된 총 6000여㎡의 지하문화공간도 만들어진다. 2011년 12월 완공 예정이다.

자하 하디드(Zaha Hadid)
이라크 출신의 실험적 건축가… 2004년 건축계 노벨상 수상

여성 최초로 2004년 건축계의 노벨상이라고 불리는 ‘프리츠커(Pritzker) 건축상’을 수상한 영국의 세계적인 건축가. 1951년 이라크 바그다드에서 태어나 1972년 영국 런던건축협회학교에서 공부했다.

대표적인 ‘해체주의’ 건축가로 꼽히는 하디드는 실험적인 건축 이론가로 먼저 이름을 알렸다. 하지만 난해한 설계 때문에 좀처럼 실제 건축 기회를 잡지는 못하다가, 1993년 완공된 독일 비트라의 소방서 건물이 주목을 끌면서 유명해졌다. 이후 하디드는 독일 라이프치히 베엠베(BMW) 센트럴 빌딩과 이탈리아 뉴라지크 현대 미술관 등 수많은 건축물 설계를 맡으며 건축계의 ‘스타’로 떠올랐다.

그의 건축 작품은 부드럽게 원형을 그리고 부유하는 듯한 역동적인 느낌을 주며, 독특한 구조와 형태로 과감한 실험정신을 보여준다는 평가를 받는다. 현재 하디드는 영국에서 ‘자하 하디드 건축소’ 대표를 지내며 활발히 활동 중이다."

Crab cake dishes you'll want to check out - 3/20/09 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com

2009-04-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

Crab cake dishes you'll want to check out - 3/20/09 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com: "Crab cake dishes you'll want to check out
Friday, March 20, 2009 | 2:51 PM

By Steve Dolinsky

March 20, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Every March, ABC7 Chicago's Hungry Hound gives meteorologist Tracy Butler an edible birthday present, which usually means grilled cheese sandwiches.

However, this year, he found one of her other favorites, crab cakes, in two different styles, one classic and the other more modern.

Menu items come and go, but few stay the same for more than two decades. At Shaw's Crab House, which has locations in River North and Schaumburg, one item that's never changed is the crab cake.

'We tried a lot of different recipes, but I think the key for us has been finding the right crab meat,' said Steve LaHaie of Shaw's.
Story continues below
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They have three types: jumbo lump, claw, and backfin.

First, the chef whisks together beaten eggs with a rich mustard-mayonnaise. Then, he combines the fin and claw meat in a giant pan, along with some fine breadcrumbs. That gets incorporated, and finally, he adds the egg-mayo mixture, using his hands once again. The jumbo lump is folded in at the end, which gives the cake good texture. The crab cake is scooped out, then grilled, just until the outer edges are browned; it's finished off in the oven.
LaHaie says the crabcake's mixture of different pieces of crab makes it unique among its peers.

'We like a combination of all three. You get three different flavors, kind of three different textures,' LaHaie said.

Just a few blocks away, inside the James Hotel, David Burke's Primehouse is known for their steaks, but they also offer one of the most creative crab cake dishes in town. Think luscious crab salad, embedded with bits of bell pepper and chive, seasoned with some lemon zest and Old Bay seasoning.

Once everything is incorporated in a bowl, the chef lays down some Japanese Pocky pretzel sticks, and pipe the crab salad onto a cracker 'raft.' More pretzel sticks cover it, and the package is tied up with chives. Then, it's dipped into a tempura batter, and sprinkled on the sides with mustard seeds, before hitting a deep fryer for two minutes.

'We're really creative here. So, it's old school, gone crazy. You have that cracker element with the Pocky pretzels, and it looks like a crazy hot dog, if you will, with the mustard seeds on the outside. And it's kind of a fun presentation,' said Rick Gresh, the chef of David Burke's Primehouse.

Beneath the crab cake, there is kumquat-honey-poppy seed jam, along with a swoosh of mango-mayo.

'It brings out the citrus tones, where it cuts through all that richness, the acid in the mango, the acid in the kumquat cuts through that fat that we use,' said Gresh.

Other fine crab cake dishes reside at Keefer's and Harry Caray's, both of which are in River North.

Shaw's Crab House
21 E. Hubbard St.
312-527-2722

1900 E Higgins Rd.
847-517-2722

Harry Caray's
33 W. Kinzie
312-828-0966

Keefer's
20 W. Kenzie
312-467-9525

David Burke's Primehouse
616 N. Rush St.
312-660-6000

(Copyright ©2009 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)"

Lifehacker - Five Best Malware Removal Tools - Malware Removal

2009-04-27T12:14:00.001-07:00

Lifehacker - Five Best Malware Removal Tools - Malware Removal: "Five Best Malware Removal Tools
By Jason Fitzpatrick, 9:00 AM on Sun Apr 26 2009, 61,892 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

On Thursday we asked you to share your favorite tool for purging malware from your computer. We've tallied the votes and we're back with the top five contenders for best malware removal tool.

Photo by Anonymous9000.

The internet—unfortunately—isn't a never-ending buffet of secure open-source software and Bollywood-style musicals starring LOLCats. There are people and organizations that delight in stealing your personal data, hijacking your computer, and making a general nuisance of themselves through malicious software. This week we're highlighting the top five tools for removing software with ill-intentions from you PC.
Spybot Search & Destroy (Windows, Freeware)

Spybot Search & Destroy has made quite a name for itself over the years, earning accolades from both general and computer-focused publications. Spybot Search & Destroy is the highest ranked freeware tool at 2Spyware.com, a website that ranks malware removal tools. In addition to scanning for malware, Spybot Search & Destroy also has a variety of additional functionality, including a botnet scanner, hosts-file modification (to keep malware from calling home), a secure file shredder, and a dummy code feautre (it replaces malicious or questionable adware modules with inert code so the dependent program will keep functioning). As an added bonus Spybot Search & Destroy is compatible with every version of Windows dating back to Windows 95.

SUPERAntiSpyware (Windows, $30)

SUPERAntiSpyware is available as both a freeware and premium edition like Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (see below), but the level of restrictions on the freeware edition are considerably higher. The free version is limited to basic on-demand scanning and malware removal. The premium version includes real-time scanning, registry protection, a scheduling service, auto-scan on startup, and 50 startup diagnostics to stop malware infections before they spread. One of SUPERAntiSpyware's strongest selling points is its high level of compatibility with other protection tools like Avira, Kaspersky, Symantec, and McAfee. In most cases it can be run along side other tools without any conflict.

ComboFix (Windows, Freeware)

ComboFix is just as spartan as the screenshot here makes it look. You download ComboFix, run it, and it takes care of the rest. The basic ComboFix process looks like this: It backs up your registry, checks to see if you have Windows Recovery Console installed, and then it goes to town on your system scanning away through 40+ stages. When it's done, ComboFix spits out a log file and lists all the malware it found, which ones it was able to remove, and which ones you'll have to use your Google-fu to look up how to remove manually. It isn't fancy, but it gets the job done and gives you a detailed report at the end to take to security forums for help if you need it.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (Windows, $25)

Malwarebytes' flagship application Anti-Malware is a shareware malware-removal tool. The principle difference between the free and premium version of the application is real-time monitoring. If you don't need active scanning against threats, the free version uses the same database and does an admirable job ferreting out infections. Anti-Malware was, for example, one of the few malware removal tools that could detect and remove the Antivirus XP 2008, a spyware application that masqueraded as an antivirus app. The Anti-Malware installation includes another application from Malwarebytes called FileASSASSIN—a helpful tool for deleting files locked by Windows.

HijackThis (Windows, Freeware)

HijackThis stands alone in this Hive Five as being the least automated yet most likely to completely wreck your system if used incorrectly. HijackThis does a comprehensive scan of the state of your computer and reports back an enormous log file. The tool makes no judgement on whether or not an application, browser modification, or registry entry is malicious or not. It simply generates a list of things that could have been potentially altered or tampered with by spyware, malware, or other malicious programs. Advanced users can look over the log themselves and determine what needs to be pruned. If you're not comfortable doing that, your best bet is to take the log file to a popular security forum like BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and ask their armies of knowledgeable volunteer malware slayers to comb over it for you. Alternately, while not a replacement for receiving expert help from people in the forums, HijackThis.de is a web-based HijackThis log reader which is updated nightly. You upload your log file, it scans the file for relevant entries and gives you links to articles on how to remove the malware found in the log."

Lifehacker - Find Great Wallpaper Using Google Image Search's New Features - Google

2009-04-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker - Find Great Wallpaper Using Google Image Search's New Features - Google: "Find Great Wallpaper Using Google Image Search's New Features
By The How-To Geek, 9:00 AM on Mon Apr 27 2009, 6,432 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

The Google Operating System blog writes up a quick and easy method for using the latest features in Google Image Search to find great wallpaper for your desktop.

Finding great wallpaper is easy—just type in your search terms, select the content type to photo, and then use the easy Use my desktop size link to automatically fill in the correct resolution for your desktop. It's an excellent and easy way to find wallpaper that matches your desktop, and since Google searches everywhere you'll have a lot of source material to work with to find exactly what you're looking for.

Hit the link for the full explanation, or check out some previously featured wallpapers—we've seen some great abstract aurora wallpapers, some killer retro gaming wallpapers, and the Windows 7 regional wallpapers, but the one you really need to check out is the must-see gallery of absolutely amazing video game remake wallpapers.

Where do you find great wallpaper for your own desktop? Share your tips in the comments.
Wallpaper Search [Google Operating System]"

Dip and Pop Opens | Chicago - DailyCandy

2009-04-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Dip and Pop Opens | Chicago - DailyCandy: "August 13, 2007
One-Stop Pop
Dip and Pop Opens
pop pop!

Cravings are strange little buggers. Case in point: the pregnant friend who puts a hot dog on a Cinnabon and calls it brunch.

Not that you can talk, what with your oat pretzels with strawberry icing and chocolate Frosties with chili fries.

For sweet and savory treats actually worth eating, head to Dip and Pop, Chicago’s first ice-cream-and-popcorn-combo shop.

Here’s the scoop: The tiny grab-and-go Loop location serves 24 ice cream flavors (like apple cinnamon, banana cream pie, and mint chip) and five popcorns (including butter, caramel, and Chicago, a caramel and cheese mix) as well as shakes, floats, and malts.

You can mix it up (cheesy popcorn plus coffee toffee ice cream) or keep the two separate (but equal).

Try not to go nuts on your first visit.

Because once you pop, you just can’t stop.

Dip and Pop, 63 East Madison Street, between Wabash and Michigan Avenues (312-629-1777)."

People Who Switch To Macs Like To Dance, And Other Strange Hunches

2009-04-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

People Who Switch To Macs Like To Dance, And Other Strange Hunches: "People Who Switch To Macs Like To Dance, And Other Strange Hunches
38 Comments
by Erick Schonfeld on April 17, 2009

it’s been only three weeks since the launch of Q&A site Hunch, but already it’s amassed answers to 4.3 million questions. By taking visitors through a series of questions to get to know them better, Hunch can begin to make guesses about the right kinds of answers for each individual by making correlations across between people who answer similarly across different topics. It’s sort of like collaborative filtering for information.

Co-founder Caterina Fake of Flickr fame shares some of the correlations Hunch has been able to find so far. Some of her findings:

* People who believe that alien abductions are real are more likely to blame Nancy Pelosi for the financial crisis.

* One of the best predictors of whether people agree they should switch to a Mac: whether they like to dance. Are PC users less fun? The data has spoken.

* Fake ID users are more likely to be happy at startups.

Also, people who like sports video games are more likely to have had a broken leg at one point (which would explain why they like to sit on the couch and play football instead of go out and, you know, actually play football).

And on the subject of Facebook versus Twitter, the Hunch data suggests that “Facebook people” are more social than Twitterers in actual social situations like a party. Facebook people mingle with more people, including strangers, whereas Twitterers stick to people they know. Other differences? Facebook people spend more on shampoo and like to drink more. Whereas “Twitterers report that they have oily skin.” In other words, Twitter is for geeks. I knew it! Don’t tell Oprah

Hunch’s data set will become available to researchers next week through a special “researchers API.” Can’t wait to find out what other correlations come out of it."

TripIt launches iPhone app — puts itineraries at your fingertips » VentureBeat

2009-04-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

TripIt launches iPhone app — puts itineraries at your fingertips » VentureBeat: "TripIt launches iPhone app — puts itineraries at your fingertips
Camille Ricketts | April 14th, 2009

TripIt, the online service that lets you create and share your travel itineraries, has launched a free application for the iPhone. The app lets users view their meticulously organized travel plans on the go — even in airplane mode — eliminating the need for cumbersome maps and paper schedules, the company says.

When you view an itinerary in the app, it’s not just a list of next stops. For 500 different sites and brands — resorts, restaurants, rental car companies, airlines, etc. — it lets you link to various web sites and make direct calls with one or two clicks. This could come in handy if you happen to be wandering around a foreign city searching for your hotel, hefty luggage in tow.

Based in San Francisco, TripIt says the app was designed to fulfill user requests. After you make your bookings via the company’s web site, you simply forward your confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and they’ll be aggregated in mobile form. This works on a few other web-activated cell phones, like the Blackberry, by providing basically the same information at http://m.tripit.com (although this doesn’t work without an active wireless connection). You can download the iPhone app in the Apple App Store, on iTunes or on TripIt’s web site.

The primary feature the app lacks is the ability to share travel plans with others from your phone. This a major pillar of TripIt’s business online, so mobile support is probably not too far behind. At some point, you should also be able to sync your itineraries with your online calendar of choice, whether it be Google Calendar or iCal, all on your phone without visiting the web site (which offers this service already).

TripIt has opened its application programming interface so that third-party developers can create mobile apps that fill these gaps and others. It says it has about 100 developers actively doing this right now, so there should be a new wave of apps integrating their travel data sometime in the near future.

TripIt is definitely not the first travel site to produce a mobile app. Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz each have their own, which let users check their flight status, find nearby hotels and keep track of their trips while in transit. But by and large, they don’t offer the same range of options or level of detail. And smaller rivals like Dopplr and TravelMuse have yet to release apps of their own. The lack of competing options is reflected in TripIt’s No. 11 rank out of the many travel apps in the App Store.

TripIt last raised funds in April 2008, roping $5.1 million in a second round of financing from Sabre Holdings, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and European Founders Fund. Before that, it brought in $1 million from O’Reilly."

Gizmodo - $800 Gets You a Never-Locked Overseas iPhone From Buy.com - Buy.com iphone

2009-04-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

Gizmodo - $800 Gets You a Never-Locked Overseas iPhone From Buy.com - Buy.com iphone: "$800 Gets You a Never-Locked Overseas iPhone From Buy.com
By Jason Chen, 6:11 PM on Mon Apr 13 2009, 9,978 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

Buy.com seems to be buying iPhones from foreign countries where it hasn't been locked down to a specific carrier, then selling them in the US for $800.

The sales description says that these phones work fine with software updates—something software unlocks don't—but your instructions may come in a language that's not English. That's a small price to pay for an unlocked iPhone. A big price to pay? $800. [Buy via 9to5Mac]"

New iPhone Rumors: June 8 Announcement, FM Transmitter, And Video Camera - G4tv.com

2009-04-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

New iPhone Rumors: June 8 Announcement, FM Transmitter, And Video Camera - G4tv.com: "New iPhone Rumors: June 8 Announcement, FM Transmitter, And Video Camera
Posted by Brian Leahy - Monday, April 06, 2009 10:55 AM

Apple iPhone OS 3.0

We're rolling right along to the two year anniversary of the iPhone and the one year anniversary of the iPhone 3G... is it time for another iPhone to be announced? It would certainly fit into Apple's strategy for refreshing products. The Internet rumor mill is churning away about a June 8th announcement from Apple.

In addition to the rumored date, some outlets are reporting that the new device could ship with a built-in FM transmitter. In the iPhone 3.1 software (which hasn't been released to developers yet) there are references to the Broadcom BCM4329 wireless chip, which is an upgrade over the iPhone's current Broadcom BCM4325. The new features? Better battery life, Wireless-N support, and the ability to send and receive FM signal.

I'm highly skeptical of this, however, as Apple has never included or enabled an FM transmitter in any device, instead leaving the functionality to third-party accessories. The current iPhone can receive FM signals, but it isn't active. This could just be part of Broadcom's chip and not something Apple intends to use.

What about a new camera?

One of the biggest complaints about the iPhone is its camera. There's no flash and it cannot record video, though applications can get video data from the camera, but cannot be saved to memory. Well, rumor has it that the new iPhone will snag a new camera with video capabilities. OmniVision supposedly won the contract to supply Apple with 3.2 megapixel cameras (up from 2.0) and developers have found evidence in the 3.0 beta SDK that suggests the iPhone will also get on-device video editing.

This one is much more believable, especially now that the 3.0 software update will include MMS messaging (for iPhone 3G owners). Maybe we'll be sending video messages soon! Now, how about a flash?

Are you going to get a new iPhone? I'm pretty sure I'll buy a new one every time Apple releases an upgrade. That's just my style."

Gizmodo - Giz Explains: All The Smartphone Mobile App Stores - Mobile app stores

2009-04-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Gizmodo - Giz Explains: All The Smartphone Mobile App Stores - Mobile app stores: "Giz Explains: All The Smartphone Mobile App Stores
By John Herrman, 2:00 PM on Mon Apr 6 2009, 6,950 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

It's been less than a year since Apple launched the iPhone App Store, but now virtually every mobile OS is showcasing its own take on the mobile application storefront. How do they all stack up?

The first thing you'll notice about these efforts—coming from such traditionally competitive companies as Palm, BlackBerry, Nokia and Microsoft—is just how similar they all sound. App World? App Catalog? App Market? Mobile Marketplace? This outward likeness actually runs pretty deep—these stores are advertising uncannily similar feature sets, for both users and developers:

Although it might not evident in the feature-by-feature breakdown above, there are two distinct kinds of app store: The primary store, which is the first and only source of an OS's apps (see Apple), and the secondary store, which is built around an existing stock of third-party apps, and with preexisting developers in mind (see BlackBerry, Microsoft, and Nokia). It's a combination of these different lineages and divergent policy choices that make the smartphone app store experience so varied.

Apple's iPhone App Store
At least for now, the App Store is the standard by which all others are judged. Beyond that, it's given us a rough guide for what works. With a $99 dollar developer's fee and a novice-friendly SDK, the barriers of entry for an iPhone developer are fairly low. Distribution, payments and to a large extent marketing are managed by iTunes, which iPhone owners are necessarily familiar and comfortable with.

And, of course, there's the iPhone: This store may only serve one handset (and its very similar nonphone brother), but it's a wildly popular one. This makes the app store uniquely attractive to developers, because it provides access to the largest uniform app-buying market in the world. Microsoft can argue that Windows Mobile 6.5 will connect developers to x gajillion different customers through y zillion different handsets, but this variety is a curse: Handsets have different resolutions, processors, 3D hardware, input types and basic feature sets. A motion-sensing 3D game with a GPS social networking feature won't work on a lot of WinMo handsets, but a 2D, keypad-controlled Asteroids clone won't make a developer rich.

But the App Store is far from perfect. Apple, like all App Store owners, has the final say in what gets listed, delisted or banned, and they aren't afraid to remind us of this. Along with the typical risque/racist/infringing content prohibitions, Apple enforces strict and often limiting rules against apps that compete with the iPhone's native set—iTunes, Mail.app, Safari to name a few—and apps that their partnered carriers aren't too fond of, i.e video streaming and tethering apps. Now, all these rules are showing signs of loosening with OS 3.0, but as long as the App Store is the sole source of iPhone apps, any rules will seem like too many rules—especially if you're accustomed to a totally unregulated system like Windows Mobile 6.1's. Hence, the gray market.

Android App Market
This second major entrant into the app store race represents a consciously different approach than Apple's, but not in that many ways. Immediately, we see a lot to compare: A single-handset userbase (at least for now), low costs for developers and a presence as the primary—though not sole—source of apps from Day One.

But the App Market is a different breed than the App Store. Most importantly, it's not the only place you can get apps. Google has been much more lenient about what they allow in their store since the beginning but in the rare case that they don't approve of an app, as in the case of tethering apps earlier this month, you can just go download an .APK file and sideload it onto your G1 anyway. This is a healthy middle ground for everyone involved; Google doesn't alienate users by destroying entire categories of apps, but isn't forced to come into conflict with carriers because of overly liberal policies. Google has also made their Market more friendly to consumers, with a no-questions 24-hour return policy.

Great! Then why is the App Market so underwhelming? Well, the G1 wasn't exactly a runaway hit, and the store got off to a slow start. Paid apps weren't made available for months after launch, and when they arrived they didn't benefit from the convenience and familiarity of a storefront like iTunes. Moreover, there's no guarantee that things will change that much in the coming months—more handsets from more manufacturers will boost Android's user numbers, but will lead to the WinMo-style toxic fragmentation that Apple so adamantly avoids.

BlackBerry App World
Matt took a dive into the newest mobile app store, and found it agreeable, but not spectacular. RIM's is the beginning of this 'secondary' app store concept, and it shows: You'll be hard-pressed to find anything here that wasn't previously available elsewhere. It is simply an aggregator for existing applications.

This was a given, as developers have been cranking out BlackBerry apps for years now. But App World was a great opportunity for RIM to give the lethargic dev community a shot in the arm. Instead of doing that, they've made the store almost hostile to would-be app writers.

Listing your wares in App World costs a hefty $200, which gives you the right to upload 10 apps, but doesn't come with any new SDKs or development tools. The payment system is PayPal, which is clumsy to use and a pain to set up. A minimum non-free price tier of $2.99, probably intended to filter out spammy apps and cover PayPal's transaction fees, discourages developers from even trying to make simple, useful apps, eliminating the $.99-to-$1.99 sweet spot that has been central to Apple's success. App World feels like an afterthought, and a reluctant one.

Windows Mobile Marketplace
With Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft will introduce the Windows Mobile Marketplace. So far, their announcements have shown an awareness of the pitfalls of both Apple's and RIM's approaches: They're emphasizing non-exclusivity and app approval transparency, a 24-hour return policy and wide device support, but also making sure to get big-name app and game developers on board to ensure that users actually have something new to look forward to at launch.

On the developer side, it's a mixed bag. As in every other store, the dev take-home is 70% of each sale, but the listing fees aren't great. $99 gets you five apps a year, but anything beyond that will cost an additional $99. I'm sure this will help vaccinate the Marketplace against the fart app epidemic that Apple has proven so prone to, but it'll do so at the expense of potentially useful free and $0.99 apps—again, a crucial price range. One important factor that's still TBD is the payment system. Microsoft says they'll support both credit card payments and carrier charges, but hasn't yet said how that'll look. In both cases the process will need to be as seamless as possible.

Nokia Ovi Store
You probably haven't heard much about this store, set to debut within a month, but it's kind of a big deal for the 40m+ Symbian S40 and S60 users that it'll serve apps to. It's planned to shoehorn into Nokia's new Ovi app suite, which we were introduced to with the XpressMusic 5800, and provide a go-to source for not just apps, but ringtones, wallpapers, and basically everything else that you might have found in a 2001 vintage carrier WAP store.

There has been a decided lack of fanfare surrounding this launch, probably because there just aren't that many Nokia smartphones in the US. But its success or failure will be informative: It will be the most open of all the app stores. For the time being, there is no developer fee, and app listings are free and unlimited. You can easily publish tons of different kinds of content—Flash Lite apps, Java apps, Native S60 apps, multimedia uploads and others—which will be subject to a vetting process that Nokia has assured will be minimal. As Nokia-averse Americans, we can view the Ovi Store as an experiment in laissez-faire app-mongering—a multi-handset, mixed-media, unfiltered feed of Symbian content.

Palm App Catalog
And finally, we have Palm's App catalog. This is the store we know the least about, but that is already set for a different course than all the others. At launch, the only handset it'll serve will be the Pre—though Palm has indicated that other WebOS handsets are inevitable. It'll be the first—and likely exclusive—source of WebOS apps, and developers will be furnished with a solid, though fundamentally limited, SDK.

Palm's still-vague plan for the App Catalog will no doubt be central to the success or failure of the Pre, but we can make an educated guess at what to expect, assuming that Palm doesn't get taken over by idiots in the next couple months: Palm will vet the apps thoroughly, provide an in-house payment system, and make development simple and cheap (previewed Mojo SDK apps have shown great promise). The end result will probably look something like the iPhone App Store, but with one huge difference: there will be no local natively running apps—the Mojo SDK doesn't provide for that, just for what amount to turbocharged web apps. Granted, these web apps will have privileged access to some of WebOS's core functions, but it's doubtful that high-end gaming, as we've seen on the iPhone, will even be possible on the platform. These limitations (along with WebOS's multitasking advantages) will affect the nature and quality of the apps that are listed in the store much more than the Catalog's policies, though exactly how, we'll have to wait and see.

Still something you still wanna know? Send any questions about app stores, SDKs or the finest in fart-app technology to tips@gizmodo.com, with 'Giz Explains' in the subject line."

Gizmodo - How To: Create Stunningly Realistic High Dynamic Range Photographs - Hdr photography guide

2009-04-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Gizmodo - How To: Create Stunningly Realistic High Dynamic Range Photographs - Hdr photography guide:
"How To: Create Stunningly Realistic High Dynamic Range Photographs
By John Mahoney, 12:00 PM on Sat Mar 14 2009, 119,422 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

In the right hands, high dynamic range imaging can blend multiple exposures of the same scene to more closely reproduce what your eye can see. Here's how to do HDR the right way.

So when should you use HDR? It's simple: when you're trying to capture a scene with a wide range between its lightest and darkest areas (aka dynamic range) as accurately as possible. Your camera's sensor can only capture a small portion of the light that your eye can take in and process, so to make up for that, HDR images are created by combining the pixel information from several pictures into one 32-bit Voltron-file that contains the full dynamic range of each of the individual shots used to create it.

* cairosky_originals_1280_1
* cairosky_originals_1280_3
* cairosky_originals_1280_2

Take this range of shots of the Cairo skyline I took last week from the top of the highest minaret of the Al Azhar mosque in that lovely city. Neither one of the three accurately exposes the whole scene—in the shot that captures the sky correctly, the buildings below are too dark, and when the buildings are exposed accurately, the sun behind the clouds gets blown out, losing all detail. So this is the perfect situation for an HDR image.

But in many cases rightfully, HDR has a reputation as a gimmick that can easily be abused to turn your photos into dreadful, over-saturated, tacky looking messes of clown vomit. But if your main intent is to accurately capture a scene as your eye sees it, you can come away with some believable but still otherworldly (for a photograph, in a good way) images. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference; you may think my shot above looks like garbage. That's cool, save your comments, photo snob trolls. You're free to make your shots look however you want, and here's the best way I've found to do just that.

What You'll Need:
• A camera that has auto exposure bracketing (not essential, but without it, you'll have to set the range of exposures manually and will need a tripod). At the very least you'll need manual exposure controls.

• Photoshop CS2 or higher (you can also use specialized HDR software like Photomatix, but for this guide I'm using Photoshop CS4).

• Some knowledge of curves and histograms in Photoshop. This video tutorial is a great start for curves.

Take Your Shots
As mentioned before, you'll get the most bang for your HDR buck with scenes that have both extremely bright and extremely dark areas of interesting detail to bring out. So choosing the right scene is an obvious first step.

1. Set your camera to auto exposure bracketing mode, which takes three (usually) sequential shots at three different exposure levels: one correctly exposed, one overexposed, and one underexposed. You can usually specifiy the amount of exposure stops to under- and overexpose—you probably want the maximum range, which is usually a full two stops in either direction.

2. You want to take the three shots in the quickest succession possible since we'll be merging them later and you don't want moving objects to foul that up. So turn your camera on burst shooting where possible and hold down the button, firing off three quickies without moving. This is where you'll need a tripod for cameras without AEB to keep the shots uniform.

Note: If you can, shoot in RAW. Photoshop can handle RAW files just fine, and the extra exposure information within compared to JPEG will make your HDR images all the more juicy. Also, the more source images you have the better, so if you do have a tripod and are shooting an immovable scene, bringing more than 3 images to your HDR file will only give you more detail to work with.

Create Your HDR Image
3. In Photoshop, go to File -> Automate -> Merge to HDR. Select your three images, click 'Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images' if you think they may be slightly crooked, and then hit OK. Photoshop will chew on them for a while and then present you with your 32-bit HDR image.

You may notice that the file you have now doesn't look so hot. That's because a 32-bit HDR image isn't useful in itself unless you have a $50,000 HDR monitor. To look good on your screen and on paper, it must now be 'tone mapped' into an 8-bit image that selectively uses parts from each exposure to accurately represent the scene.

4. Before we head to tone mapping, save your HDR as a 32-bit Portable Bit Map file so you can start fresh again if need be.

Tone Mapping Your Image
How you tone map the HDR file determines whether your result will look great or like the aforementioned clown vomit. We're using Photoshop here because it's more closely tuned, in my opinion, to achieving real-world results than HDR-specific software like Photomatix. Here, though, personal taste is everything, so if you like your images more or even less saturated and otherworldly than I do here, feel free to experiment, of course. They're your photos! It also helps to keep an eye on your originals as you're doing this to make sure you don't stray too far from reality.

To become a skilled HDR jockey in the tone mapping department, you'll need to be at least a little bit familiar with two fundamentals of digital imaging that tend to hide in the background for most users—the scary-looking graphs known as histograms and curves, both of which look like they belong in your school text book.

But no need to cower in fear! Watch this video right now to get the basic gist of curves (and also, essentially, histograms).

Now, armed with that knowledge, to tone-mapping!

5. With your 32-bit HDR file open, go to Image -> Mode -> 8 Bits/Channel. This will bring up the tone mapping window, which has four options in the drop-down: Exposure and Gamma, Highlight Compression, Equalize Histogram and Local Adaptation. The first three, to varying degrees, are automatic settings. To say I understand the specific differences between all four would be lying, but I do know this: Local Adaptation is the only one that lets you manually futz with the image curve, giving you the most creative control. Choose that one (but feel free to experiment with the others, of course).

6. Here's where things get kind of abstract. If you watched your tutorial video, you'll know you want to use the eyedropper tool to isolate areas of the image you want to work with, then create an anchor point and move that section of the curve into the ligher or darker area of the graph. You can start with the easiest adjustment, which is dragging the lower-left portion of the curve to where the histogram begins—this will make the darkest parts of your image pure black, which you want for good contrast.

7. Your next goal should be to fiddle with a point higher on the curve to make your whites whiter. So grab a point up there and move it into the top portion of the graph until the whites are to your liking in the live preview.

8. And finally, choose a point in the middle and work the midtones. Again, preference is key, but you'll want something that, in the end, represents a classic S-curve for the best contrast. In the end, you want an image that has black blacks, white whites (but few to zero completely washed out areas), and detail through the midrange. Your image may still look not so good when your curve is done, but that's OK.

9. The last step in the tone mapping process is to mess with the good ol' Radius and Threshold sliders. Again, like many things in Photoshop, I have no idea exactly what's being jiggered here, but these essentially control how HDR-ed out your HDR images will look, if that makes sense. The wrong setting will peg the image's edge detail, resulting in some yucky looking mess. I like to keep a little bit of blown-out highlights in the image too, to remind everyone it's still a photo.

So fiddle with these sliders until the live preview looks good in your esteemed opinion. Again, your image won't look perfect, even now. The object here is to strike the right balance between detail and a natural look.

Toning Your Image
Now you have a good old fashioned 8-bit image that contains some elements of all three of your original source files, tone mapped. The final step is applying some of Photoshop's basic tools used for any photo in order to bring out the most detail possible.

10. First, Levels. Even though you set contrast with your tone curve, you may still be able to fine tune it with levels. So under Image -> Adjustments -> Levels, make sure the black and white sliders are aligned with the left and right edges of your histogram mountain to the extent that it pleases you.

11. Next, Image -> Adjustments -> Shadows/Highlights, one of Photoshop's most magical tools. Here is where the areas of your image that previously looked too dark will reveal their glorious hidden detail. Slowly raise the Amount and Tonal Width sliders under Shadows until the detail comes out, but not too far into ugly boosted-out territory. Do the same for Highlights.

12. And last, Image -> Adjustments -> Hue/Saturation, where you probably want to boost the Saturation just a little bit to get the colors popping to your liking.

And that's it! You should now have an HDR image that captures that amazing scene like you remembered it, without the clown vomit!

Like always, knowledge dropped in the comments of our Saturday How-To Guides is essential.Don't feel like my way is the only way—if you've got something constructive to share, please do! Happy HDR-ing this weekend everyone, and please do post your results in the comments. I want to see,"

Drawing Inspiration From Creative Logos | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine

2009-04-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Drawing Inspiration From Creative Logos | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine: "Drawing Inspiration From Creative Logos

By Matt Cronin, April 1st, 2009 in Design Showcase | 89 Comments | Forum
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Dear friends, we try hard to meet your expectations with our posts. If you enjoyed this one, please don't forget to give it a thumbs up. Thank you.

As designers, we are always in constant need of inpiration. Whether it be web or graphic design, other work to fuel our creativity is essential. Logo design requires the most amount of inspiration however.

Below we present a showcase of 50 beautiful, clever and creative logo designs that will hopefully inspire you. If you take a closer look at the showcase below, you will notice many trends. Some of these include use simple shapes to create something complex, origami shapes, coloring and transparency trends, and many more.

Why are these logos so excellent? All of these logos use very creative methods to represent the brand through color, shapes, and shape typography. Look at how each of these logos can tell you something about the company. Also note the brilliant color palletes and unique patterns used in many of these. Finally, pay attention to the typography, especially font selection and coloring.
Showcase Of Creative Logo Designs

Creative logo design

Further Resources

Area for further articles and related resources.

* Logo Design Trends 2009 (logoorange.com)
* Logo Design Trends 2009 (1stwebdesigner.com)

About the author

Matt Cronin is a freelance web and graphic designer as well as developer. He is the author and owner of Spoonfed Design, a design blog with great tips, how-to, inspiration, tutorials, and more. Spoonfed Design is part of the VAEOU Creative Network, a new startup in progress with new services coming soon."

Gizmodo - Dealzmodo Hack: Making iTunes Work For You - Best itunes addons

2009-04-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

Gizmodo - Dealzmodo Hack: Making iTunes Work For You - Best itunes addons: "Dealzmodo Hack: Making iTunes Work For You
By John Herrman, 4:00 PM on Thu Mar 5 2009, 62,627 views (Edit post, Set to draft, Slurp)

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Whether you have an iThing or not, you might use iTunes to manage music, listen to internet radio and podcasts, and buy music and video. If you do, here's how to get it working—your way.

There was a time in the distant past when iTunes was a nice basic music manager for devices made by Creative and others, when DRM-laced music and video was just a dream in some lawyer's eye. Now, after the explosion of iPhones and iPods and the proliferation of legal media downloading, iTunes has become a necessary choice for music and video organizing. But as much as the player has improved since 2001, it's still annoyingly limited, throwing up barriers for enthusiasts and casual users alike. Lucky for us (and despite Apple's lack of cooperation), plenty of hacks, tweaks and add-ons can help fill the gaps—for both Mac OS and Windows. Here are some of the best:

Sync With Whatever the Hell You Want
iTunes nowadays will only directly sync with Apple products, but we're a gadget site, so we sought out a few apps to make syncing your iTunes library with other devices as painless as possible:
• iTunes Sync (Win): This tidy little app will sync your library with just about anything that Windows recognizes as a removable disk. The super-long supported device list only scratches the surface, but includes a lot of BlackBerry and Symbian phones—again, anything that your PC assigns a drive letter should work just fine.
• iTunes Agent: Almost the same as iTunes Sync. If that app fails you, you might have better luck with this.
• BlackBerry Media Sync (Mac/Win): Exactly what it sounds like, though Mac users will have to use a beta build.
• Pocket Tunes Sync (Win): If you can't connect your WinMo or Palm handset to your PC as a mass storage device for some iTunes Sync or iTunes Agent love, this'll do. Counter to the Dealzmodo Hack philosophy, though, it's a paid app, so try the other stuff first.

Take Full Control
iTunes doesn't provide many control options. Aside from the main window, you can manage iTunes from its compact mode, or in Windows, shunt the buttons to your Start Bar. That's it! Unless you install these:
• You Control: Tunes (Mac): Places extremely comprehensive controls in your Menu Bar. It also recognizes keyboard shortcuts, which some people go inexplicably apeshit over, and can display pretty little toaster notifications.
• iTunes Remote Control (Mac): A simple app that controls iTunes over your network. Perfect if you use iTunes as a media server.
• FoxyTunes (Mac/Win/Lin): A Firefox extension that places buttons in your browser window, where your mouse probably spends most of its time anyway.
• Remote for iPhone/iPod Touch/Android: Your iPod, iPhone or G1 is now a fantastic iTunes remote. Congratulations.

Really, Truly Share Your Music
iTunes' sharing abilities, which have been eroding since the day they were first introduced, are now officially lame. Third parties, that's your cue:
• Simplify Media (Mac/Win/Lin): It's hard to overstate how useful this is. Simplify Media shares your library so that you can access your music remotely, via iTunes or their fantastic iPhone client. You can also access friends' libraries directly through iTunes, as if they were connected to your LAN. Downloading isn't enabled, but Simplify more than makes up for that with dead-easy setup and reliable streaming.
• Mojo (Mac/Win): Simplify Media's sketchy, somewhat unreliable cousin, Mojo lets you download as well as listen to other users' music. My experience with the app has been a mixed, but when it works, it works well.
• LogMeIn Hamachi (Win, with Mac/Lin console options available for advanced users): Not the most obvious way to share iTunes libraries, but a surprisingly elegant one. Hamachi is a zero-config VPN service that can connect you to another computer over the internet as if it were on your home network. That means file sharing, LAN gaming and—of course—iTunes streaming, all working seamlessly.

Install Scripts, You Nerd
You can get a lot out of iTunes with a little AppleScript, and there might be something in this for you Windows nerds, too.
• Doug, of DougScripts.com, is the preeminent master of AppleScript arts, and he's compiled 400+ scripts to manage your music and album art, download artist info or lyrics, or control pretty much anything else the iTunes touches—perfect for Foobar-loving, OCD-having power users. And don't be off put by the word 'script,' as Doug packages them with a neat little installer. Lifehacker compiled some of their favorites a while back, but it's worth exploring the site on your own.
• AppleScript won't do much good for Windows users. For you, the best options are Teridon's iTunes Scripts. These are Perl scripts or small .exe files (recommended) that mimic some of Doug's best: Dupe deletion, advanced artwork management and sophisticated playlisting to name a few.

Miscellaneous Add-ons
There are plenty of useful hacks and add-ons that don't fit into the above categories. I can't stress enough how useful it would be to look at Lifehacker's fantastic list from a while back, but here are a few of my favorites, too:
• iTunes Folder Watch (Win): Monitors your music folders, automatically adding new files to iTunes.
• Last.fm/AudioScrobbler (Mac/Win/Lin): Integrates iTunes with the fantastic Last.fm social network, with a plugin to upload your listening stats. The standalone app plays nicely with iTunes as well, letting you rate and tag songs as they play.
• Dupin (Mac): A simple app for deleting library duplicates.
• CD Art Display (Win): Presents Now Playing info and cover art however your please. Lots of skins are available, it that's your kind of thing.
• DockArt (Mac): Simple, but perfect, DockArt replaces the iTunes icon with album art.

If you're feeling adventurous, test DVD Jon's odd new media manager, doubleTwist. It's not ready to replace iTunes yet, but it is, as Adrian put it, 'extremely promising.'

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every other Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own."

'앱스토어'를 잡아라… IT 별들의 전쟁

2009-03-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

'앱스토어'를 잡아라… IT 별들의 전쟁 - 1등 인터넷뉴스 조선닷컴: "'앱스토어'를 잡아라… IT 별들의 전쟁
애플 앱스토어, 폭발적 성장 아이폰 확산의 기폭제 역할
삼성·구글 등 앞다퉈 제공 MS도 애플 따라 하기 나서
바르셀로나=호경업 기자 hok@chosun.com 기자의 다른 기사보기
조형래 기자 hrcho@chosun.com 기자의 다른 기사보기

지난주 스페인 바르셀로나에서 열린 세계 최대의 이동통신 전시회 '모바일 월드 콩그레스(MWC) 2009'는 세계 모바일 산업의 전환점으로 기록될 전망이다. 세계적인 휴대폰 제조업체인 핀란드 노키아와 삼성전자, 스마트폰의 강자 캐나다 RIM(Research in Motion), 세계 최고의 소프트웨어 기업인 마이크로소프트(MS)가 약속이나 한 듯 앱스토어(application store)를 열겠다고 전격 발표했다. 세계 최대 인터넷 기업 구글 역시 작년 하반기 구글폰 출시와 함께 이미 애플리케이션 서비스를 실시하고 있다.

앱스토어는 말 그대로 스마트폰이나 MP3플레이어 등 IT 기기에 필요한 다양한 응용프로그램이 거래되는 사이트다. 가장 대표적인 애플의 앱스토어는 1만5000건의 프로그램 등록과 5억건이 넘는 다운로드 횟수를 기록하며 아이폰 확산의 기폭제 역할을 하고 있다.

또 하나의 변화는 인텔·도시바·HP·델 같은 PC 기반 글로벌 IT 기업들이 모바일 시장에 속속 뛰어들기 시작했다는 것이다. 인텔은 작년 하반기부터 시장을 주도하고 있는 미니 노트북PC '넷북'의 성공에 힘입어 MID(Mobile Internet Device)라는 새로운 모바일 기기를 출시하겠다고 발표했고, 델과 HP도 각각 세계 PC 시장과 프린터 시장에서의 경쟁력을 바탕으로 휴대폰 시장에 도전장을 던졌다.

이런 변화는 IT 기기의 차별화 요소가 하드웨어 제조기술 중심에서 소프트웨어로 급격히 옮겨가고 있다는 것을 의미한다. 혁신적인 사용자 환경(user interface)이나 창의적 비즈니스모델 개발 같은 소프트 능력이 제품과 업종의 경계를 허무는 IT 융합을 앞당기고 있는 것이다.

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애플의 성공, IT 산업의 변화를 몰고 오다

애플은 글로벌 경기 불황이 본격화된 작년 4분기에도 깜짝 놀랄 실적을 냈다. 삼성전자·노키아·RIM·HP 같은 대표적인 글로벌 IT 기업의 실적이 급격히 나빠진 것과 달리, 애플은 거꾸로 매출 101억7000만달러(15조4000억원), 순이익 16억1000만달러(2조4400억원)의 사상 최대 실적을 기록했다. 작년 미국 비즈니스위크가 선정한 '세계 최고의 혁신 기업' 애플의 성공비결은 뭘까? 나사를 전혀 사용하지 않는 매끈한 디자인, 제품 포장의 손잡이 모양까지 통일성을 추구하는 완벽주의 등 다양한 요인들이 있다. 하지만 애플의 성공에는 '아이튠즈'와 '앱스토어'라는 독특한 비즈니스 모델이 단연 일등공신이다. 애플의 뮤직스토어 아이튠즈는 2003년 4월 오픈한 뒤 올해 1월 초까지 무려 60억곡의 노래를 판매했다. 세계 디지털 음악 유통의 70%를 차지하는 것이다. 소니나 워너뮤직 같은 대형 음반사들이 온라인상에서 벌어지는 불법 다운로드로 고민하는 사이, 애플은 자사의 MP3플레이어 '아이팟'과 음악거래 사이트 '아이튠즈'를 묶는 새로운 비즈니스 모델로 음악 유통시장을 장악해 버렸다.

각종 응용프로그램을 거래하는 앱스토어는 출범 6개월 만에 5억건이 넘는 다운로드를 기록했고, 지금도 하루 평균 다운로드 건수가 476만건에 이를 정도로 가파르게 성장하고 있다. 앱스토어의 폭발적 성장세가 '아이팟' '아이폰' '맥북' 같은 제품의 판매를 밀어 올리고 제품 판매가 다시 앱스토어의 사용자를 끌어 모으는 선순환이 이뤄지고 있는 셈이다.

이런 전략 덕분에 애플은 MP3플레이어 세계 시장 점유율 1위에 이어 휴대폰 사업에 손을 댄 지 1년 여 만에 세계 10위권의 휴대폰 제조업체로 도약했다. 게다가 애플 아이폰은 미국 스마트폰 데이터 통화량의 51%를 차지할 정도로 독보적인 위치를 굳히고 있다.

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▲ 애플의 앱스토어

다급해진 글로벌 IT 거인들

애플의 혁신적인 비즈니스 모델이 대성공을 거두자 가장 다급해하는 쪽은 오랜 경쟁자인 MS다. MS는 '윈도'에 밀려 한때 고사 직전까지 갔던 애플이 화려하게 부활하자 바짝 긴장하는 분위기다. MS는 결국 자존심을 꺾고 애플 따라 하기에 나섰다. MS의 스티브 발머 CEO(최고경영자)는 애플의 오프라인 매장 '애플 스토어'를 본뜬 MS용 오프라인 전문 매장을 열기로 했다. MS는 오프라인 매장의 성공 가능성에 대해 회의적인 시각에도 불구하고 이미 유통업체 월마트 출신의 데이비드 포터 부사장을 영입할 정도로 각오를 불태우고 있다.

발머 CEO는 이어 지난주 스페인 바르셀로나에서 열린 MWC에서 MS판 앱스토어 '윈도 마켓플레이스(Windows Marketplace)를 오픈한다고 발표했다. 마켓플레이스는 새로운 윈도 모바일 OS(운영체계)인 '윈도 모바일 6.5'와 함께 하반기 본격 서비스될 예정이며, 휴대폰과 인터넷을 통해 각종 응용프로그램을 내려받을 수 있다. 발머 CEO는 '현재 개발자들이 2만개가 넘는 응용 프로그램을 개발해 둔 상태이며, 언제든지 서비스할 준비가 되어 있다'고 의욕을 보였다.

세계 1위의 휴대폰 제조업체 노키아도 '오비 스토어(Ovi Store)'라는 이름의 앱스토어를 공개했다. 노키아는 오는 5월 오픈하는 오비 스토어를 통해 응용프로그램뿐 아니라, 게임·비디오·위젯 등 다양한 콘텐츠를 제공할 예정이다. 노키아는 특히 세계 최고 수준인 노키아 맵(지도)을 활용해 사용자 위치에 기반한 다양한 서비스를 제공, 경쟁업체와 차별화를 꾀하겠다고 발표했다. 올리 페카 칼라스부오 CEO는 '오비 스토어는 고객 맞춤형 서비스를 제공하는 스마트 스토어'라며 '2012년이면 오비 스토어를 이용할 수 있는 휴대폰이 3억개가 넘을 것'이라고 자신했다.

삼성전자도 MWC 개막 직전 삼성 애플리케이션 스토어를 개설했다. 삼성은 유럽지역에서 우선 서비스를 한 뒤 이를 전세계로 확대한다는 방침이다. 이밖에 구글은 작년부터 미국·영국 등에서 운용해온 '안드로이드마켓'을 앞으로는 독일·프랑스·네덜란드·호주·싱가포르 등으로 확대하겠다고 밝혔고, RIM과 왕년의 스마트폰 강자인 팜도 각각 자사의 마켓플레이스를 운영하겠다고 발표했다.

PC업체들의 휴대폰 시장 진출

이번 MWC에서 나타난 또 다른 변화는 전통적인 PC·TV 제조업체들이 본격적으로 모바일 IT 기기 시장으로 진출하기 시작했다는 것이다. PC업체들은 하향세로 접어든 PC 시장을 벗어나 매년 20% 이상 성장하고 있는 스마트폰 시장을 넘보고 있다. MS의 발머 CEO는 '향후 수년 내에 스마트폰이 전체 휴대폰의 50% 이상을 차지할 것'이라고 전망했다.

특히 대만·중국계의 PC 업체인 아수스·에이서·레노버의 약진이 두드러진다. 아수스의 경우 미국 최대의 내비게이터 업체인 가민과 함께 '가민·아수스 누비폰 시리즈'를 내놓았다. 아수스는 작년 세계적으로 선풍을 일으킨 넷북 바람을 타고 매출이 지난 2007년에 비해 231%나 폭증한 229억달러를 기록했다. 아수스로서는 '넷북'의 사이즈를 조금 줄이고 음성만 실으면 쉽게 스마트폰을 만들 수 있는 셈이다. 세계 3위의 노트북PC 메이커인 대만의 에이서도 12개국에서 출시 예정인 스마트폰을 선보였으며, 일본 도시바도 두께 9.9㎜의 'TG01'이라는 스마트폰을 공개했다.

인텔의 MID 사랑

세계 최대의 반도체 칩 회사인 인텔도 휴대용 IT 기기 시장 확대에 심혈을 쏟고 있다. 인텔은 LG전자와 함께 새로운 휴대용 모바일 기기 'MID'를 본격 출시할 계획이다. MID는 노트북·PMP(휴대용멀티미디어플레이어)·내비게이터의 기능을 한데 모아놓은 것으로 화면 크기는 4.5~7인치다. 넷북(화면 10인치 이하)보다도 작은, 포켓PC에 가까운 크기다. 인텔은 이번 전시회에서 10여종의 MID를 선보이며 관람객들의 눈길을 끌었다.

세계 최대 반도체 업체인 인텔이 MID를 밀고 있는 이유는 새로운 IT기기를 흥행시켜 칩셋을 판매하기 위해서다. 인텔은 LG전자와의 협력을 통해 음성 통화 기능을 장착한 MID를 출시, 새로운 시장을 창출하겠다는 의지다.

휴대폰 메이커와 통신업계의 경쟁구도가 바뀐다

이런 변화는 휴대폰이 음성통화와 단순한 문자메시지 보내기 수준을 넘어 사실상 PC처럼 활용된다는 것을 의미한다. 그리고 이런 변화 속에서 통신 서비스 업계와 제조업계, 그리고 제조업계 상호간의 역학 구도가 확 바뀌고 있다.

예를 들어 다양한 운용프로그램을 모아둔 앱스토어는 휴대폰 제조업체와 소비자를 직접 연결해주는 역할을 한다. 따라서 그동안 이동통신 비즈니스에서 절대적인 역할을 했던 통신업체들의 영향력이 크게 줄어들 수 있다는 것이다. 게다가 애플의 사례에서 보듯, 메이커와 소비자가 한번 직거래 관계를 맺기 시작하면 강한 유대감까지 갖게 된다. 포레스터 리서치의 줄리 아스크 애널리스트는 '제조업체와 소비자간의 직거래 관계가 성립되면 이 관계는 휴대폰을 넘어 MP3플레이어나 미니노트북PC 같은 다양한 IT 기기로 확산될 수 있다'고 말했다.

PC업체가 휴대폰 사업으로 뛰어드는 것은 '기술'이라는 진입 장벽이 갈수록 낮아지고 있다는 것을 의미한다. 더 이상 제조 기술력만으로는 차별화하기 힘들다는 이야기다. 좀 심하게 말하면 MS나 구글로부터 소프트웨어를 사와서 휴대폰에 접목하는 것은 누구나 할 수 있을 정도로 기업간 기술격차는 줄어들었다. 특히 중국·대만 PC업체들은 글로벌 IT기업들의 생산기지 역할을 하면서 휴대폰 생산에 필요한 노하우를 충분히 확보한 상태다. 안승권 LG전자 MC사업본부장도 '아수스나 에이서 등의 진입으로 휴대폰 시장 싸움이 더욱 치열해질 것'이라며 '소프트웨어 능력을 키우지 않으면 글로벌 강자도 살아남기 힘들 것'이라고 말했다.

입력 : 2009.02.26 16:13"

Pinch Media » About

2009-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Pinch Media »

Pinch Media helps iPhone developers grow their businesses.

That’s it - it’s what we base every decision on at Pinch Media. The company was founded in April 2008 by Greg Yardley and Jesse Rohland to build free tools for iPhone developers. Along the way, we discovered something a lot of entrepreneurs do - starting a company isn’t easy, but it’s one of the most rewarding, challenging, satisfying things you can do. We also reached out to the Apple developer community and met some incredible people - some of them successfully running their own companies, others working on their passions in their free time. As we realized our analytics and advertising programs could help other developers grow their businesses, we decided to make that our explicit purpose. That’s why we’re the only advertising company for the iPhone that sits down with developers and helps them determine when advertising makes sense, and when it doesn’t - often advertising works, but sometimes paid downloads simply perform better, and we’ll always be honest with you when that’s the case. That’s why we also devote a significant piece of our resources to improving our free analytics tools, which help developers optimize their applications and improve the user experience. If there’s anything else we can do for you, let us know. Our success depends on helping others."

Vanilla Days : HDR Tutorial: How to create ‘High Dynamic Range’ images using Photomatix

2009-01-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

Vanilla Days : HDR Tutorial: How to create ‘High Dynamic Range’ images using Photomatix: "HDR Tutorial: How to create ‘High Dynamic Range’ images using Photomatix

If you want to know how to take photos such as these, then read on.

The Liverbuilding pierheadhdr.jpg Liverpools Anglican CathedralFrom Princess Dock Inside York Minister condi-rice-liverpool-05.jpg

View More
Contents

* What’s new?
* Aims of this tutorial
* What is HDR?
* Tools Needed
* Step 1: Source Images
* Step 2: Generating a HDR image
* Step 3: Tone Mapping
* Real World Examples
* Issues with HDR
* Extras
*
o Generating a HDRI from a single RAW file
o 1 RAW vs 3 RAW’s
o Photoshop vs Photomatix
o HDR from JPGs
o Removing EXIF
* Conclusion
* Credits and Links"