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Google to focus on portrait shots and effects with improved camera app
We know that Google has been looking to bring more advanced photo features to Android for a while, but it may soon be ready to show off what it's been working on. Sources aware of Google's plans have confirmed to us that the search giant is currently testing a new version of its camera app that will sport a refreshed UI, a background-blurring effect for portrait shots and improved panorama and Photo Sphere modes. As part of its overhaul, we're told that Google has finally fixed issues with the default camera's photo framing, allowing users to snap images with a new 100 percent no-crop viewfinder. That means you'll see exactly what your Android device will capture before you hit the shutter button, with no unwanted objects creeping in at the edges. The company is also said to be making the camera app more extensible by opening support for third-party filters. This will allow developers (and Android enthusiasts) to create and import custom effects inside the stock camera app. The camera app's portrait skills may see some improvements too, with the addition of a new lens-blur mode that will take photos with a shallower depth of field, mimicking the effects you'd typically see in Nokia's Refocus app and HTC's new One. New high-resolution panorama and Photo Sphere modes have also been added, improving the quality of your sweeping shots. While many are awaiting the release of Android 4.4.3, the latest version of KitKat, Google is set to make these camera improvements available to users by way of a standalone update. Our sources indicate that the app will exist separately so that non-Nexus owners running Android 4.4 and above will be able to take advantage of the improvements, without having to wait for an OTA update from their device maker or carrier.
Daily iPad App: Deco Sketch Pro is a unique photo editor and graphics creation tool
Deco Sketch Pro is a universal iOS app that features geometric effects that can be added to images you have, or you can start from scratch. The US$2.99 universal app includes 10 brush types with 130 variations. You can extract color from a photo and use it as the base for an effect. You can start with a blank page and create your own designs, useful for creating desktops or other graphic art. The app is simple to use, and when you first load it, you get some help in identifying the on-screen icons. From there, I found it's just a matter of exploring. With photos, you can add things such as sunbursts or other shapes -- whatever you can dream up. It's powerful as a painting tool as well, and while I am no artist, I was able to create some interesting designs that would have been difficult to create with other drawing for painting programs. Controls allow you to zoom so you can work in detail on your image, and unlimited undos let you can fix anything that went wrong. The app worked smoothly on my iPad as well as my iPhone 5. When you are done creating, the app lets you output 8 MB images (2,448 x 3,264), which matches the iPhone 5 camera resolution. The app lets you share your creations to Facebook, Twitter and email. It's a bit hard to describe the compelling output from this app, but check the gallery for some samples. %Gallery-181961% Deco Sketch Pro is a 32 MB download and is optimized for the iPhone 5. It requires iOS 4.3 or greater.
Did you think 'The Avengers' finale was shot in New York? Think again (video)
Raymond Teller once said that the secret to fooling people is to put in so much more effort than the trick seems worth. It seems that the bods at Industrial Light and Magic followed his wisdom when concocting the effects for The Avengers. If you'd marveled at how seamless the team had blended shots of the Big Apple with the Chitauri invasion, then we've got a surprise for you -- almost none of it is real. Rather than shoot parts of the New York-based finale in the city (or any other city), the effects house created a 20-block "digital playground," complete with individually detailed office windows. Interested in learning just how much of those breathtaking set pieces were filmed in a green screen in New Mexico? Head on past the break.
YouTube video editing brings in real-time previews, trims UI down to the basics
YouTube's video editing suite is officially a toddler in human years, so it's about time that it grew a little more beyond learning how to walk and talk. By far the most conspicuous sign of maturity is a new real-time preview that shows edits and filter options as you play -- you'll now know if that effects filter at 1:37 is festive or just gaudy. The overall interface is also a little more buttoned-down with a simpler interface that cuts back on unnecessary clutter. YouTube has been rolling out the editor update in recent hours and may have wrapped up by the time you're reading this, which we'd take as a cue to start producing that streaming masterpiece.
PhotoFunia creates seamless Special FX on your iPhone
PhotoFunia is a clever and free novelty app for iPhone camera buffs. It will allow you to create a variety of special effects that would take quite awhile in something like Photoshop. Here are some examples: Using face detection, it can take a photo of a friend and cleanly insert the face over another body like an astronaut in a space suit or someone atop a motorcycle or a surf board. Additionally, it can take any scene and matte it into an existing frame. Get your picture in lights in Times Square or get a scene in an art museum with everyone admiring your favorite pictures. The app requires a data connection to work. PhotoFunia sports more than 250 different effects and more are added on a regular basis. I pretty much yawn at endless effect and filter apps, but this app offers some new twists and it works very well. It will work on iPad, but it is not a universal app (it works in 2x iPhone compatibility mode). My only complaint is that the photos are not rendered at full resolution, which would be a real plus. If this were a paid app I would recommend it. As a free app (with ads), it is a no-brainer if you want to create some whimsical images to share with family and friends. The app is a 2.4 MB download and requires iOS 3.0 or greater. Check the gallery for some of my creations, and check the PhotoFunia website for samples of all the effects. %Gallery-154301%
Pioneer launches RMX1000 Remix Station, now no tune is safe (video)
Pioneer has been dishing out its line of digital DJ tools for long enough that you'd hope it knows what the spinners want, and these days it seems that's remixing tools. The RMX1000 is a new effects based unit, that looks like an evolution of the firm's EFX range. It still cooks up those chops, rolls, and reverbs, but also has a companion "Remixbox" software, as well as studio-friendly VST / AU functionality. The software lets you overwrite the default set-up with one of your own, and there's an SD card slot so you can leave yours at home, but still bring your settings to the club. Word is that pro DJ settings will be available for download, so nosey DJs can see how James Zabiela likes his high-pass filters. The effects themselves come in four flavors: Scene, Isolator, Release and X-Pad. Connectivity-wise it's rocking a pair of RCA and 1 / 4-inch plugs for both in-and out-put, and there's USB for the computer / MIDI hook-up. It's set to land in June with a $1000 price tag, but in the meantime if you want to see if it'll be worth your savings, hit-up the video after the break, or click the PR for the full specs.
Unity 3.5 available now, with new effects and performance updates
There are quite a few ways to make and build iPhone and iPad apps and games, but one of the most popular tools to create iOS games is the Unity engine, and that system has released version 3.5. The new version offers a number of improvements and upgrades, with lots of new particle and lighting and rendering effects to make games look better than ever, as well as improvements in the standard AI and pathfinding code for enemies, and lots of improvements to performance and memory. The new kit also now supports a preliminary version of export to Flash, and there's also an option to create a "native" client, which can be played in Google's Chrome browser without the use of the Unity web add-on. There are some iOS-specific updates, including support for cameras, microphone, compass, and gyroscope, as well as support for Apple's iAd program. There's Game Center support as well, though for leaderboards and achievements only -- matchmaking and voice will still require Apple's official SDK. It all sounds good, and it means the tools for developers to use to make games for iOS and other platforms are getting better and better, which of course will eventually lead to better games for players. Unity's SDK can be downloaded for free from the company's website, and of course there are pro subscription programs for bigger developers. Show full PR text Unity Technologies Releases Unity 3.5 SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 14, 2012) - Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, is proud to announce that Unity 3.5 is now available for download. This latest update is one of the biggest additions to Unity since its inception and includes major new features and a multitude of improvements, tweaks, and optimizations. Unity 3.5 is a free update for all developers using version 3.0 or higher of the Unity development platform. "This is one of the most spectacular additions we've ever made to Unity," said David Helgason, CEO, Unity Technologies. "Recognizing that Unity was being pushed harder and harder, we launched our initiative to upgrade Unity with high-end capabilities that larger studios are accustomed to and smaller studios usually don't have access to. We want to make Unity the best choice for everyone and Unity 3.5 is a massive demonstration of our commitment to that goal." The Unity development platform, one of the most popular in the world with more than 800,000 registered developers globally, combines a powerful engine with an intuitive set of development tools in one complete package. "We are incredibly proud of this release and I think it's our strongest yet," said Nicholas Francis, Chief Creative Officer, Unity Technologies. "A year ago, we took a deep dive and began working on developing features for more complex projects and larger teams. It took hard work to do this while preserving the intuitive and usable design that makes Unity so popular, but we are sure that developers using Unity will be as happy with the improvements as we are." Throughout its history, Unity Technologies has continued to rapidly enhance Unity and the 3.5 update provides a long list of additions and improvements: Effects New in Unity 3.5, the highly optimized Shuriken particle system provides artists and programmers with complete control over particle-based visual effects. Shuriken is a curve and gradient-based modular editor, with hierarchies and sequencing capabilities that allow for many particle systems to stay synchronized. Pathfinding and Obstacle Avoidance Improvements to AI provide accurate pathfinding along complex pathways and natural movement through crowds. Game developers can bake navigation data in the editor and let Unity's high-performance path-finding and crowd simulation take over at runtime. Lighting and Rendering Developers can create jaw-dropping visuals with linear space (gamma correct) lighting and HDR rendering, and render them faster than before with Unity 3.5's brand new multi-threaded renderer. Also new to Unity 3.5, light probes add life and realism to lightmapped scenes without the high cost of typical dynamic lights. The addition of light probes to Unity's lighting system allows for baked lighting on characters and other dynamic objects. New Platforms Unity 3.5 supports Native Client as a new deployment platform. Native Client allows for near native speeds within the Chrome browser, without the need for installing the Unity Web Player. Unity 3.5 also ships with the preview release of the Flash deployment add-on, which has already been used by 50,000 developers. Performance Improvements Unity 3.5 includes a completely re-written integration of Umbra's occlusion culling system. The result is incredibly fast and works with terrains and dynamic obstacles such as doors. When combined with Unity's new built-in level-of-detail support, it gives large-scale games the performance boost that they need. Better Collaboration Tools The Asset Server license, Unity's add-on for teams and collaboration, has been enhanced with new features that add greater performance and flexibility. The addition of Unity's cache server dramatically speeds up collaboration on projects of all sizes, and a new developer API for third-party version control solutions, such as Subversion and Perforce, allows larger teams to work more efficiently. To reflect these changes, the product has been renamed the "Team License," and made available as an add-on for all Unity users. Additional Improvements The update includes other improvements such as a new GPU profiler, a fully pluggable Social API to implement social gaming, and low-level audio buffer access to create music games, and directional lightmaps support to name but a few. For a complete list of additions and improvements, please visit http://unity3d.com/unity/whats-new. Pricing and Availability This is a free update for all Unity 3 users. Pricing otherwise remains the same. The entry-level product, Unity, is free for commercial use. The premier product, Unity Pro, remains $1500 per developer seat. For a complete list of products and pricing, please visit http://unity3d.com/shop. To download the free and feature-packed Unity for creating games and other interactive applications, visit http://unity3d.com/download. About Unity Technologies Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, an intuitive and flexible development platform used to make wildly creative and intelligently interactive 3D and 2D content. The "author once, deploy everywhere" capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of 800,000 registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies aggressively re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service, in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/unity3d Twitter: http://twitter.com/unity3d Unity and all other product names are trademarks of Unity Technologies or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other product names and trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Blizzard looking into weapon enchant display solution
The World of Warcraft artists are second to none in the industry, masterfully turning concepts into game reality. What happens, sadly, when your awesome weapon graphics are overshadowed by the overzealous weapon enchant you are practically required to have? Blizzard is still looking into a way to deal with displaying weapon enchants, either through a toggle, some other interface switch, or some unannounced feature yet to be determined. While I agree with Blizzard that iconic and recognizable looks are a great way to pinpoint what items are capable of how much damage and power, as we have seen with transmogrification, the general scope of iconic looks has changed drastically. If it's possible and feasible, Blizzard will allow us to toggle our enchants, especially after the success of transmogrification.
Korg unveils two new Kaoss family members, brings anarchy to your pocket
Two K-words we're almost always pleased to hear: Korg and Kaoss. Good, then, that the former has decided to make more of the latter -- the mini Kaoss Pad 2 (effects unit), and Kaossilator 2 (synthesizer), to be precise. Both new editions will slip in your pocket, and are dominated by that all-important X-Y pad. The mini Kaoss Pad 2 is all about effects, packing 100 programs, three memory slots, and MP3 playback (with pitch adjust). The traditional flanger, filter, delay, and reverb ear candy are also joined by looper, vinyl break, and ducking compressor. But what good are effects without anything to, er, affect? Enter Kaossilator 2. It's a palm-sized synthesizer, with 150 onboard sounds and a PCM engine for drums. You can sample via a built-in mic, gate and arpeggiate sounds, and create layered textures with loops. Both can record your performance, save it to SD, or impose share with others via a built-in speaker. It's all peace and quiet, though, until April when the Kaossilator lands for about £168 ($260). The KPad, on the other hand won't hit the market until May, retailing at the same price. Full PRs after the break.
YouTube unveils post-production suite, includes Instagram-like effects and shake reduction
Nothing says 'YouTube' like a grainy handheld shot that acts as a catalyst for nausea; sadly, this may all be set to change. The digital home of Home Videos has introduced a suite of new effects that lets you patch up your candid classics, even after you've uploaded them. What's more, the changes you make are non-destructive, so if your grand idea proves dreadful in reality, you can go back and undo all your meddling. The usual family-friendly sepia, cartoonify and vignette type fare -- courtesy of photo editing amigos Picnik -- are joined by some more practical tools such as brightness, rotate and the aforementioned sickness-solving stabilization. However, if your clip has more than 1,000 views you'll need to save it as a new one -- wouldn't want the next Numa Numa vid to get all discolored after going viral, now would you?
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite combat ability in any game?
You may not like the fact that combat is a consistent part of most MMOs, but it remains a truism. And in a way, it's better like that, because it means we get a much wider array of spectacular combat abilities to choose from. From Ultima Online onward, players have been able to unleash a variety of devastating and frequently impractical attacks against harmful enemies, until they're essentially leveling thermonuclear warheads at an average forest squirrel. City of Heroes allows you to rip opponents through a wormhole. Final Fantasy XIV lets you incinerate land and earth around your target. Guild Wars lets you unleash a series of cuts too fast for the eye to follow. Out of all the destructive and sometimes ridiculous skills you've seen in MMOs, what qualifies as your absolute favorites? Are they abilities with impractical uses but a lot of flair behind them or solid workhorse abilities that might not look as spectacular but work like a charm? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Nikon D5100 impressions, head-to-head with D7000
Nikon has stirred up the camera crowds once again with its newly released D5100, filling the industry with the buzz of a new high-resolution articulating screen. In terms of consumer DSLR options, the D5100 has taken on the role of the mid-range model in Nikon's product line between the D3100 and the D7000 and we think it assumes the part rather nicely. In terms of price, the D5100 fits right in as well, fetching an MSRP of $900 (vs. $700 and $1600, respectively for the two aforementioned camera kits). Of course, the D7000 lands you the better 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR lens, a larger and brighter viewfinder, built-in focus motor, weather-proof sealing, and a few other internal upgrades. But don't judge too quickly, because we've had some time to play with Nikon's latest creation and the D5100 can certainly shoot along with the big boys of consumer cameras -- read on past the break for our impressions and comparisons with the D7000. %Gallery-121549%
Super Mario Bros. gets modern sound effects, nostalgia ensues (video)
We can only wonder what'll happen when you reach a certain score -- you know, somewhere above 8000...
HTML5 prettifies fan-made Tron trailer... in real time! (video)
What can HTML5 do for you? Quite a lot, as it happens. A chap by the name of Franz Enzenhofer has put together a real-time effects mixer for a fan-made Tron trailer, which combines HTML5 with a dash of JavaScript and a sprinkling of CSS to demonstrate the awesome potency of open web standards. You can recolor, reposition, rotate, stretch, or skew the video, all while it plays. We've got the unaltered trailer, made earlier this year as a sort of homage to the 1982 picture, for you after the break, but you'll want to hit the source link to start post-processing it with the finest browser-based video editor yet.
iShred jumps up the charts thanks to viral video
Last Saturday, we posted this video of the band Atomic Tom singing with their iPhones on the B train over the East River. Since then, the video has gone viral, nabbing more than a million views on YouTube. But the band isn't the only group benefiting from the attention -- we heard from the developers of iShred, the guitar app seen in the video, and apparently just being seen in the video has had a huge effect for them as well. The app has jumped from #84 to #4 on the App Store music app charts, and has reached the #65 app overall. That's quite amazing, and it shows that people are getting recommendations for their apps from all over the place, from sites like ours to just spotting apps used in other contexts. What's most surprising isn't just the US App Store growth, but the fact that iShred has seen a big jump up overseas as well -- iShred is in the top ten in over 20 countries in the world. In Japan, we're told, it's the #3 app out of all of them. That's surprising -- when the video went viral, it must have become popular internationally. Of course, it probably doesn't hurt that the iShred folks have put the app on sale for just US$0.99 (and honestly, this post will probably give them another nice jump in the listings). But it is interesting to see the effects of such a subtle app mention when it goes out and reaches the right people.
AmpKit, a new way to shred with your iPhone
Peavey and Agile Partners have just introduced AmpKit and AmpKit LiNK, an iPhone-based hardware/app combo that takes portable guitar and bass effects to a new level. It's loud, it's lightweight, and it's an extremely flexible (and relatively inexpensive) alternative to a floor full of pedals. Matt Tinsley recently reviewed the iRig and AmpliTube combination that also became available recently. I pre-ordered the iRig, and I loved it from the moment I got it in the mail and plugged my guitar into it (I did unbox it first). I received a review unit of the AmpKit LiNK this month, though, and for the last couple of weeks, it's been the mainstay of my practice sessions. I'll tell you up front that I'm not currently gigging, so I can't attest to the road durability of this hardware, or the actual feasibility of using it onstage. I don't doubt that it would perform well on both counts, but I haven't battle-tested it. That being said, click "Read More" for my thoughts on the AmpKit/LiNK setup.
The Mog Log: Can't hardly wait edition
While our column last week was all about Final Fantasy XI, we're turning this week to Final Fantasy XIV and the release date that is approaching oh so quickly. But not quickly enough. Somehow knowing that it's just around the corner in September just makes the interim that much harder. I mean, we have to go through how many more weeks of the agonizing anticipation? At least it gets released after PAX, so I won't have to worry about the timing of that with traveling out to Seattle, but holy wow guys the game is coming out in two months. If it weren't already wholly obvious, I'm pretty excited. The game is shaping up to be amazing by every standard I care to use, and the fact that it's this close to release is unexpectedly wonderful news. But while I would have happily discussed some of the release details last week, there were other events that needed attention first. Now that I can sit back down and take a closer look, however, there were a couple parts that really stood out to me. I mean, even beyond the squealing joy of its oncoming release.
IK Multimedia ships AmpliTube iRig iPhone interface adapter
We know you've been waiting on pins and needles, and at long last, the gap between announcement and "now shipping" has been closed. IK Multimedia has just revealed that its AmpliTube iRig adapter is shipping, enabling iPod touch, iPad and iPhone users to jack their guitar or bass directly into their iDevice and access all sorts of effects. From there, users can pipe the audio to a pair of headphones or a guitar amp, theoretically allowing your handheld to supplant your mess of pedals. We're also told that the iRig can be used with line level signal sources such as synthesizers, keyboards or mixing consoles, so there's that. It's available as we speak for $39.99 (or €29.99 overseas), and users can expect an iPad-specific version of the AmpliTube app to be released in the near future.
AmpliTube iRig brings axe slingers closer to their iPhone, creative side (video)
Oh sure, we've seen something similar from PRS, but the reviews on the Guitarbud were -- how do you say? -- less than stellar. For those looking high and low for a decent alternative, IK Multimedia has outed the equally seductive AmpliTube iRig, a software / hardware tandem that enables axe slingers to jack their guitar or bass into an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and tweak their sound with a variety of amps and effects (up to 10 stomps, 5 amps, 5 cabinets and 2 microphones). The dongle also has a headphone jack for keeping your wailing to yourself (read: it's mom and neighbor approved), and if you're sporting a jailbroken device, you could also record your newest masterpiece while this hums along in the background. It's a beautiful thought, no? It's up for pre-order right now at $39.99, and you can peek a video of the solution in action just after the break.
Zoom G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar effects pedals offer direct USB recording
Zoom is kind of like Mitsubishi -- it sort of does it all. Months after shipping one of the greatest pocket audio recorders every known to man, the company is now hitting back with none other than a pair of guitar effects pedals. The G2Nu and G2.1Nu boards both feature 100 preset guitar sounds, 20 of which have purportedly been given the almighty thumbs-up from Steve Vai. If you're curious about differences, the latter adds a built-in expression pedal for additional control, but frankly, the expected capabilities aren't what we're interested in. Both devices sport integrated USB ports that enable them to operate as audio interfaces; in other words, axe slingers can record directly to their computer through this box, and the 1.9-inch display helps you keep track of what's going on. Regrettably, pricing and availability details have been conveniently omitted, but we suspect it'll be hitting Sam Ash, Sweetwater and the rest of the gang soonish. %Gallery-88115%
