| Dave Hunt (a familiar name in these parts) has been working on perfecting his Raspberry Pi-controlled camera time lapse rig. Before I go into any more detail, here’s some absolutely stupendous video resulting from his work on the setup. (I recommend you use HD when viewing this – and watch the video in a full-screen setting if you can.) We’ve featured a few projects here which use the Pi to create time-lapse video, but Dave’s is the most sophisticated we’ve seen yet, adding features like a heater to evaporate dew from the lens and an ability to film rising or falling sequences. There are some great pictures documenting the build at his blog (we’re very impressed by the neatness of the construction work), along with some circuit diagrams and the Python you’ll need to create your own rig. Visit Dave’s site for a tutorial and discussion about construction. We’re very encouraged to see so many artists using the Pi, in so many different ways; there have been a number of art installations featured here, and it’s really great to see the Pi driving the tools needed to create beautiful things. Computing is as much a creative discipline as it is a scientific one – that’s a message we at the Foundation are very keen to get through to kids, but it’s not one we’re seeing reflected in schools. Science can be beautiful too, though. Over in the United States, SaratogaWeather has been using a static camera controlled by a Pi to take time-lapse video of the weather patterns over Mount Timpanogos, Utah. Dynamic systems like the formation of clouds are hard to appreciate and study at real-time speeds: but speed things up a bit, and patterns and structures become evident and much easier to analyse. There’s a whole channel full of these videos, and cloud geeks like me will have great fun with them. I irritated everyone around by shouting “CAP AND BANNER!” at the top of my voice when I spotted one in another of these videos. (Once I nearly made Eben crash the car by screaming “Stop! KELVIN HELMHOLTZ!” while we were travelling at speed down the A14. I blame hanging out with fluid dynamicists. Kelvin Helmholtz instability produces a great and rather rare cloud formation, though – I’m still proud to have spotted one.) What applications would you like to see time-lapse cameras being used for? Are you working on something yourself? We’d love to hear your thoughts. |
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Time lapse video, for art and for science
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Reuters visits the Raspberry Pi factory
| This piece of news footage is all about how the Raspberry Pi you own is made in the UK. It gives you another really close look at some of the processes in the factory – as well as some crystal-clear video of pick and place, you’ll see some of the ladies on the line doing hand placement of through-hole parts, and learn a bit more about plans for increasing production (even with a million sold in our first year, sales show no sign of slowing down). The video also discusses our plans to move all of the production (except the red boards for the Chinese market) to the Sony factory in Pencoed, S Wales, where Raspberry Pis are made for us under licence. And Eben has a new t-shirt.
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EL James to Publish Journal for Aspiring Writers
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Entitled 50 Shades of Grey: Inner Goddess, the leather-bound book will include a foreword from the author, writing prompts and tips, excerpts from the novels, and more. A quote in an article for The Bookseller by James’s editor Anne Messitte at Vintage/Anchor explained the journal’s creation and purpose: “As E L James travelled and met with her readers, there was a great curiosity about how she got started writing. Her personal story as a writer is inspirational to many women, and journaling has been an important part of her creative process from the start.” Viking writes, “Developed as a creative collaboration between EL James and her US publisher, the bonded-leather soft cover journal will offer readers and aspiring writers a place where they can record their innermost thoughts. While the response to the news has been mixed, some outlets are not passing up the opportunity to poke fun at the author of what many have complained is barely-readable and barely-disguised fan fiction. Abbey Stone for Hollywood.com stated in her article, “… leave it to James to release a ‘book’ that consists mostly of empty, lined pages. Who knew that blank journals had authors? She really is revolutionizing the industry.” James is currently at work on another novel, as well as collaborating on the much-anticipated 50 Shades of Grey screen adaptation. The journal is expected to be released on May 1st.
EL James to Publish Journal for Aspiring Writers is a post from: E-Reader News |
ForeWord Reviews Names Its Book of the Year Finalists
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While the award itself is a recognition of both the author and the publisher, it is actually librarians and booksellers who rely on the outcome of the judges’ decisions in order to find new authors whom they may have otherwise not discovered. According to a press release yesterday from ForeWord Reviews, “Over the next two months, a panel of sixty judges, librarians and booksellers only, will determine the winners. Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction, will be announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA) in Chicago, Friday, June 28th at 6pm at The Pop Top Stage. Winners will also be announced on the ForeWord Reviews website, on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and our weekly email newsletter, ForeWord This Week. The winners of the two Editor's Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each. ForeWord's Independent Publisher of the Year will also be announced. More than 20,000 librarians and publishers attend ALA annually.” For a complete list of the finalists for the upcoming award, visit botya.forewordreviews.com/finalists/2012/.
ForeWord Reviews Names Its Book of the Year Finalists is a post from: E-Reader News |
Monday, March 11, 2013
Netflix Now Available for the Blackberry Z10
| If you are a Blackberry Playbook or Z10 owner, the most sought after video streaming apps everyone wants is Netflix. It has not been possible until this point to even stream videos from the website because Netflix put a physical block on accessing the content. Today, Good e-Reader is proud to bring the only working copy of Netlfix, exclusively for the Blackberry Z10. This working version of Netflix will only work on BB10 devices. One of the only drawback is because this is an Android port, it tends to take a longtime to load up and tends to lag. If you can get past all of this, you can install the BAR file on your Z10 today by clicking HERE. If you have no experience loading in your own apps on the Playbook or the Z10, you need to download the proper software HERE. Netflix Now Available for the Blackberry Z10 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Marvel’s Project Gamma Brings Adaptive Music to Digital Comics
| Project Gamma adds sound to the comics experience—but it’s not a single soundtrack, nor is it simple sound effects. It is “a unique, immersive experience that brings fully adaptive music and sound together with digital comics to create an entirely new audio-visual event,” according to the Marvel website. Unlike your standard audio comic, where a single soundtrack plays when the comic is opened or the reader taps a button, Project Gamma will tailor the sound not only to the action in the comic but also to the reader’s behavior. Here’s Peter Phillips, senior vice president and general manager of Marvel’s Digital Media Group said "The music will not speed up as you flip the page," he explains. "Its modulated in such a way that whether you're a fast reader or a slow reader, it will stick with you, it'll be by your side. This is embedded music to enhance the experience of what you're already enjoying. And it paces itself to how you're reading. So that's really the key. "If there's a piano expected to be on there for 30 seconds and plays music for 30 seconds, after that time is over it's going to randomize in a way that's completely intuitive. As you're flipping back and forth throughout pages, it's not going to be buffering; the audio will enhance that experience and take you back to where you were. You're not going to hear any break in the music." In addition, there will be similarities in the music across different comics that feature the same character. Marvel will roll out Project Gamma later this year and will pair up the new system with comics that have “Big events, big characters—honestly, ones that really lend themselves to music,” according to editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, who also managed to articulate why, exactly, anyone would want this: "It's not unlike being in a video game, to be honest." Marvel’s Project Gamma Brings Adaptive Music to Digital Comics is a post from: E-Reader News |
Comixology Experiencing Massive Problems with Free Marvel Comics
| Comixology announced that it would be giving away almost 700 free issues at the South by Southwest conference in Austin. In the last 48 hours since the comics have been available, the company’s systems have been crashing and many customers are unable to even log into the system. This normally wouldn’t be a big problem, but the free #1 issues are only available until March 12th 2013, which means the vast majority of comic lovers won’t be able to download anything at all. The main idea behind the free first issues will be to encourage people to buy second issues. Most of the comics available are older, but you can find some great things if you can get to them. We have found through our own experiences that the app suffers the most on iOS and Android. The best solution is to directly access the webpage, get the goods from there, and it will then be automatically synced to your account. Unfortunately, due to the demand the company has paused the ability to download all the free issues, with no word on when they will reinstate it again. David Steinberge, the CEO and co-founder of ComiXology, released the following statement just now: “It’s been a whirlwind weekend and comiXology is fresh from SXSW, where we talked about some exciting things. We had believed ourselves prepared—but unfortunately we became overwhelmed by the immense response. We’re still struggling to keep our systems up. The result is that you aren’t getting your comics when and where you want. We don’t like letting you down. Our teams are working around the clock to resolve these issues so that you can have the experience you’ve come to expect. We’ll be communicating with you as often as we can and deeply appreciate the outpouring of support we’ve seen from our customers while we right the ship.” Comixology Experiencing Massive Problems with Free Marvel Comics is a post from: E-Reader News |
Toronto Public Library Strikes Affiliate Deal with Indigo
| The Toronto Public Library has implemented the ability for customers to buy eBooks via their website with a new affiliate program with Indigo Books. Users will be able to purchase the eBook that have borrowed from the library or if the book has a long wait list, they can just straight up purchase it. The Toronto Library will earn a paltry 5% commission on every digital variant they sell. This new program marks the broader push to open TPL up to new revenue sources. In the near future the library will begin printing advertisements on the backs of its due-date slips, for a six-month trial period. The library is also investigating the possibility of running ads through its public wi-fi service. Libraries are building more synergy with selling eBooks, rather then just lending them out for free. In essence, libraries don’t make any money from loaning out eBooks and the investment for a solid catalog often run upwards to $20,000. This is also the first time Indigo has partnered with a library and makes sense they selected the one they did, because Indigo has their headquarters in Toronto. Toronto Public Library Strikes Affiliate Deal with Indigo is a post from: E-Reader News |
A team of European designers has a plan to help save your wrists from injury when using the computer. It's a floating mouse that reduces the chance of repetitive stress injury
See more at:
http://www.komando.com/coolsites/index.aspx?id=14172&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=notd&utm_content=2013-03-11-article_6-img
10 Ways to Make a School Librarian’s Job Easier
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Thanks to Paige Jaeger (Washingon-Saratoga Board of Cooperative Educational Services, N.Y.), Tana Penn (Taylor County School District, Ky.), Ann Terry (Frisco Independent School District, Texas) and other OverDrive school library partners for sharing ideas. For additional outreach ideas, take a look at these printable bookmark templates, sticker and shelf-talker templates, and more on our digital library blog.
If your school is interested in OverDrive, but hasn't signed up yet, check out our free school trial.
Carrie Smith is a Technical Writer at OverDrive.
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Marvel Giving Away 700 #1 Issue Digital Comics for Free
Yesterday Marvel Comics announced that they are running a temporary promotion where they are giving away 700 first-issue digital comics for free to anyone who can get through the download process using the Marvel Comics apps or Marvel Comics Digital Comics Shop. Unfortunately they are having trouble sustaining the massive download attempts, and neither are [...]           |
How to print from Android
http://www.techhive.com/article/2027751/answer-line-how-to-print-from-android.html
Publishers and eBook Stores File Complaints Against Amazon’s New Domains
| Amazon has petitioned ICANN for some new top-level domain names such as .book, .author, and .read. These are the new breed of internet extensions that will go live this April and will replace the standard .com and .net we all know and love. Amazon’s plans to dominate the book portion of the new domain names have incurred the wrath of the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. In a letter to Icann, Scott Turow, the novelist and president of the Authors Guild, wrote: “We strongly object to ICANN’s plans to sell the exclusive top-level domain rights for generic book-industry terms, such as .book, .author, and .read. Placing such generic domains in private hands is plainly anti-competitive, allowing already dominant, well-capitalized companies to expand and entrench their market power. The potential for abuse seems limitless.” Barnes & Noble also filed its own protest in the last few days that said “Amazon would use control of these TLDs to stifle competition in the bookselling and publishing industries.” The Digital publishing industry is seeing unparalleled revenue growth in the last few years and major publishers, such as Penguin, see 22% of their global book sales stem from digital. Amazon is thought to control at least 60% of the global ebook market and controlling popular brand extensions would be a savvy move. It is thought that the company has spent well over 10 million dollars in filing applications for different top-level domain names in the last year. Publishers and eBook Stores File Complaints Against Amazon’s New Domains is a post from: E-Reader News |
3D parametric plotter
| This video from Benedek93 is a little slow to get going, but it’s well worth watching all the way through for a really tight demonstration of what you can achieve with OpenGL ES on the Pi. Benedek says:
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Finally, a Tablet Built Exclusively for Women
| Eurostar Group, a Dubai based tech firm has designed what it is proudly calling the world's first tablet device that has been built entirely for women. Named the ePad Femme, the tablet looks exactly like any other currently available device, except for its branding and the choice of apps the device comes pre-loaded with. Some sources pointed out the ePad Femme is also available in a pink color scheme, though none seem to be available online. Anyway, the tablet does sport a light pink wallpaper. Coming to specs, the ePad Femme sports an 8 inch display and is built around a 1.5 GHz chip. The tablet runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and offers 16 GB of internal memory. There is also an SD card slot should one need more storage. What makes it even more attractive is its price tag of $190, making the ePad Femme even more affordable than the Nexus 7. The manufacturer is attempting to increase the tablet’s appeal to women through a chauvinistic selection of pre-loaded apps. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ePad Femme comes pre-installed with the predictable and stereotypical apps for cooking, yoga, weight loss, shopping, clothing size conversions, and such. However, while Eurostar probably meant well by building a tablet marketed to women, it remains to be seen if this device will have any appeal among its targeted demographic. It’s not like women were holding off on buying a tablet, impatiently waiting for something like the ePad Femme. Maybe it will have some success in the middle east and other such markets where women are forced to have a separate, secondary identity.
Finally, a Tablet Built Exclusively for Women is a post from: E-Reader News |
Sunday, March 10, 2013
eBook Review: The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI by Charles A. Coulombe
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As the world watches to see where the position of leader of the Catholic church is headed and who will be tapped to fill the role, to those on the outside of the issue there may be some confusion about the election of a new Pope and the status of the previous one. After Pope Benedict XVI announced he was stepping down to health concerns, rumors began swirling about his true motivations, the pending leadership of the Church in his absence, and the way history will remember this one-time conscripted Hitler Youth member. Coulombe’s title, The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI (Diversion Books), may only be a digital short that contains less than 25,000 words, but the well-known author of titles the chronicle the Catholic church packs an astounding amount of history and cardinal regulation into that brief title. While at times the book seems to veer off course into issues facing the Church that have no bearing on the outgoing Pope, the simple fact that it is a work of long-form journalism lends itself to this level of historical data. An almost-distracting number of hyperlinks embedded constantly throughout the text may make the work unappealing to some, but could also provide constant valuable clarification to readers who are not already familiar with the workings of the papacy. It is important to state that ebooks such as Couloumbe’s aren’t intended to become timeless works of non-fiction, but are rather almost rushed through to digital publication in order to reach readers in a timely way. One of the benefits to the format of the digital short or e-novella is that ability to bring even more in-depth information to readers as the events in the text continue to rage. The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI is available now from Diversion Books and Kobo.
eBook Review: The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI by Charles A. Coulombe is a post from: E-Reader News |
Authors Warned Away from eBook-Only Imprints
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An article by Mick Rooney from The Independent Publishing Magazine explained some of the concern for naive authors who sign with the oft-criticized Author Solutions, namely that the company is actually facing litigation for accusations surrounding some of its recent practices. Those practices include allegations that authors’ royalties were not paid out, advertised packages were not as promised, and more. Several writers expressed concern that the ordinarily well-received site Lulu would align itself with the company. At the same time, an in-depth article for Forbes by Suw Charman-Anderson explained some of the issues surrounding the rise in ebook-only publishing imprints–many of which are owned by Big Six publishers and operate as a way to bring books to market without the investment risk in print editions–and the things authors need to be aware of before signing a contract. When digital-first or ebook-only imprints were first conceived of, they were criticized for changing the long-held dynamic of a traditional publishing deal. Most under attack was the lack of an advance against sales, a factor that reliable imprints like Harlequin’s Carina Press can afford to operate under by offering authors an unheard of high royalty percentage. Where royalties are concerned, critics argue that the imprints are not actually offering authors standard royalties. In the case of Hydra, a science fiction ebook-only imprint owned by Random House, the theory is that authors will not receive royalties, but will instead receive payment on what is closer to a profit-sharing system of the net profits. There is also the matter of signing the rights away for the term of the copyright, as well as terms which include charging the authors for the initial setup costs associated with publishing the ebook. While the publishing industry has evolved more in the last handful of years than ever before, it’s easy to get swept up and believe that this is just where the business is heading. It is important to remember that the publishers have a stake in ensuring the most profitable outcome for their catalogs, but that doesn’t always mean it will be profitable for the authors.
Authors Warned Away from eBook-Only Imprints is a post from: E-Reader News |
SxSW: Marvel Announces Weekly Infinite Comics, Free #1s
| Marvel Comics had some big announcements at its panel Sunday at South by Southwest. The list starts with weekly digital Infinite Comics, featuring four 13-issue story arcs over the course of the next year; the release of 700 free first issues for a short time; Project Gamma, technology that will enhance comics with sound; online videos about the company, including documentaries on their history; and the previously announced Marvel Unlimited iOS app. Let’s start with the freebies. Between now and March 12, Marvel is offering 700 issue #1′s for free via comiXology. That’s the good news; the bad news is that the flood of traffic immediately after the announcement apparently crashed the site. Hopefully they will fix the problem quickly so everyone can get their free comics before the deadline. The Infinite Comics are something Marvel introduced last year at SxSW. These are comics specifically made for digital media (I reviewed one just last week) that eschew the traditional page turns. Instead, a swipe may bring in new word balloons, a new panel, or a change in focus. (Marvel has a demo video on their site.) Up until now, they have been one-offs tied in to print storylines, but now Marvel plans four 13-issue story arcs, starting with Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted, which will debut on July 9th. Marvel CEO Axel Alonso told CBR,
The fact that there’s a Wolverine movie in the works is, of course, no coincidence at all. On the Marvel site, Alonso remarks that the writers of the monthly comics will also be working on the Infinite Comics, because they are all part of the same continuity. Marvel is keeping mum for now on the other three story arcs. Project Gamma will provide audio enhancements to Marvel comics in the form of a soundtrack or other audio cues and will only be available for select comics; in the CBR interview, Alonso allows that he was skeptical at first but added, “Who out there hasn’t had that moment when you’ve been reading a comic book with your iPod on or the radio on, and you found that the music has changed your reading experience?” He called it an “adaptive experience” that will vary depending not only on the story but also the reader’s pace and other factors. There’s a video showing how it works on the Marvel site. Finally, Marvel plans a series of in-house videos, to be hosted by Blair Butler (Attack of the Show) that will take a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s history. SxSW: Marvel Announces Weekly Infinite Comics, Free #1s is a post from: E-Reader News |
