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The first ever black hole image lands scientists $3 million prize
The scientists that captured the first image of a black hole are being rewarded with a $3 million prize. The Breakthrough prize, known as the "Oscars of Science," is sponsored by Silicon Valley execs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin, and recognizes top scientists in fields including life sciences, physics and math.
Apple's big iMovie iOS update includes green screen and more
It looks like Apple is taking the casual filmmaker a little more seriously. Its latest update for iMovie for iOS -- out today -- comes with a new green screen effect, better still image support, 80 new soundtracks, graphic overlays and more.
Watch the first ever image of a black hole be livestreamed here
What does a black hole look like? Black, probably. And big. That sounds pretty vague, but as the gravitational forces of a black hole are so strong even light is overpowered by them, we've never had a comprehensive image of one before. Until now. Today, scientists from six cities around the world will unveil the first ever image of a black hole -- called Sagittarius A* -- and you can watch the historic announcement live online. (Update: the image has been released. Check it out here!)
NASA's InSight lander delivers its first clear photo from Mars
Earlier today the InSight lander successfully touched down on Mars, and it's already crushing the 'gram. Signals indicating that its solar panels had opened and were generating power came back to Earth at about 8:30 PM ET, along with a few photographs relayed via another visitor to Mars: the Odyssey orbiter. While it's expected to take two to three months to fully deploy the lander's instruments, this image came from its Instrument Deployment Camera which is mounted on a robotic arm.
'Find It On eBay' searches with pictures instead of words
Finding stuff you actually want to buy on eBay is getting a whole lot easier thanks to the online shopping site's new Image Search function. Instead of trying every possible search term combination to come up with the exact thing you want, you can now simply upload a photo (Image Search) or click "Find It On eBay" when browsing another website, and the eBay app will surface relevant listings. Find It On eBay is now live on Android, while Image Search is live on both Android and iOS.
ICYMI: Smartphone picture printer, AR app for all and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-568631").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A case designed to print the pictures that normally just stay on your smartphone is out, just in time for Christmas. Researchers at MIT are doing their best to connect all the smart appliances and gadgets within your home for easy control with a clever app called Reality Editor. And Tokyo's police are forming an anti-drone squad that will use large UAVs with nets to capture smaller drones.
Ultra HD Blu-ray is bringing high-res movies home soon
After Blu-ray and HD DVD ushered in the age of HD and 1080p movies for the masses, discs were beaten to 4K by streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon. While the internet is still doing most of the heavy lifting for 4K, the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification is finally complete which means we should see movies and players arriving later this year. Besides being compatible with the 10,000~ Blu-ray discs already out, Ultra HD Blu-ray players will be ready for high-res 3,840 x 2,160 video, "next generation object-based sound formats" (think DTS: X and Dolby Atmos), more colors, high dynamic range (HDR) and even high frame rate video. That's a lot of buzzwords to say movies will have the capability to look and sound better at your home than they ever have before. The BDA also made vague reference to a "digital bridge" setup for extending your movie purchased on a disc to other devices like phones and tablets, but didn't say exactly how that will work, or if it's going to be any better than Ultraviolet.
How not to use rice to save your iPhone
Here's the thing: Rice can indeed dry out your iDevice if it ends up taking an unexpected tumble into a pool, pond, or -- tech gods forbid -- toilet. That being said, this is not the way to do it. Leave your device off for as long as possible, and certainly until you're confident there is no more moisture left inside the device. Leaving it on is not a good idea, but I have a feeling the photo was just taken for the effect. Oh, and the great macro with the rice grains. [Photo credit: Steven Depolo]
Introducing the iClipboard
I've often wondered if there was a way to make the iPad even more useful. Now I have my answer. OS X + a fashionable metal clip. [Image credit: AndyOnFlickr]
There's nothing wrong with homemade Apple gear
Love Apple products but can't squeeze a new one into your budget? Here's a relatively cheap solution. [Photo credit: Yum9me]
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Chaos Theory: Why TSW's quest art thrills me to no end
Every Secret World fan has his or her own list of reasons why the game feels special and unique. Perhaps it's the investigation missions, the contemporary setting, the flexible character builds, the dark subject matter, the well-done voice acting, the creepy tone, the immense pile of lore, or the sheer fun that is the dressing room. Steadily climbing to the top of my own list is an aspect that I haven't seen mentioned much at all: the quest art. Is that the best terminology for it? I don't know what else to call it. What I'm talking about here are the images that often pop up through quests, from photographs to journal entries. These pieces of art aren't just sprinkled in here or there; they are so dang prolific that I've devoted an entire screenshot folder to holding them. Once you start really noticing them, it's hard not to marvel at all of the work that was done to put them in the game. So excuse me this week as I go on about why quest art is seriously terrific and terribly underrated. I may even share a favorite or 27 of them along the way.
Olloclip 4-in-1 iPhone lens gives you a new perspective on the world
If you're an iPhone owner, there's a good chance you take a lot of photos with your phone. That's totally understandable, given that Apple's recent smartphone offerings are widely considered to be fantastic for photography. Still, the built-in lens on your iPhone 4, 4s, 5 or 5s is still hampered by its physical limitations. The Olloclip external lens system is a clip-on accessory that offers four different view options that can seriously change the look and feel of your iPhone photos. Specs Lenses: 10X Macro, 15X Macro, Wide-angle, Fisheye Price: US$69.99 Design The Olloclip is tiny, and can easily fit in your pocket or bag with no trouble. That's a pretty crucial aspect of the accessory, especially since you're not going to want to have it equipped as you go about your day-to-day tasks. The clip portion of the device is plastic while the lenses themselves are made of metal (and glass, obviously). The clip feels snug when applied to the iPhone, and while it's not difficult to slide off when you're done, there's also little chance that it would fall off on its own. Because of how the accessory is designed, two of the lenses are placed on each side, and the metal lens casings -- which house the fisheye and wide-angle lenses -- unscrew from the plastic clip to reveal a macro lens on either side. If you read our previous review of the original Olloclip 3-in-1 lens -- which featured 10X macro, wide-angle and fisheye lenses -- this version is essentially an updated version of that, and also includes a 15X macro option. Functionality Once the Olloclip is applied to your phone, taking photos is as simple as it's ever been. There's no tweaking or adjustments needed, and switching from one lens to another takes only a few seconds. The autofocus and other built-in iPhone features work as they always have, so you can shoot burst photos, play around with various filters or shoot slow-mo video without issue. If you know how to shoot a photo with your iPhone now, you'll know how to do it with the Olloclip; it's as simple as that. As a package, the Olloclip's lenses are a great combo, but some are definitely a bit more useful than others. The fisheye lens, for example, is fun for goofy shots, but it's not something you'll use daily. Between the two macro lenses, the 15X option is definitely going to be your go-to, simply because if you're looking for macro functionality, the more the better. The wide-angle lens will get the most use from aspiring iPhone photogs, and it's worth the price of admission all on its own. It's great for outdoor shots as well as large group photos where you need to cram as many people into the frame as possible. Conclusion The Olloclip 4-in-1 is a fantastic accessory that is both easy to use and a whole lot of fun to play around with. The lenses included are great for shooting types of photos you've never had the chance to before, and if you're tired of your Facebook photo albums or Flickr collection is looking a little dull, this is one of the easiest ways to spice it up. Rating
SOE teases picture of mystery sandbox MMO
Behold, ex-Star Wars Galaxies players: This is the first glimpse of the home that SOE is building for you. SOE President John Smedley sent out a pair of pictures on Twitter on January 29th showing screenshots from the unannounced MMO that the studio is creating. The pictures are both of the back of a church or chapel with a fenced-in graveyard next to it. In the second picture, snow is falling. The pictures seem to suggest that the game will take place in a contemporary setting. One of SOE's CMs indicated that these tweets were of the new sandbox MMO described as "dedicated" to SWG players.
The payphones of the future
I can't think of a good reason not to do this to every payphone in existence. [Image Credit: Lorna Watt]
Cupertino has always been a hive of Rebel scum
Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper? [Image credit: bfishadow]
Baby like!
Proving once again that it's never too early to start falling in love with Apple gadgets. [Image credit: Marc Levin]
How it feels to set down your iPad and pick up your iPhone
[Image credit: Colin Dunn]
PAX East 2013 in pictures
There's nothing quite like the experience of being on the show floor at PAX East. From fan gatherings to the booths to the general atmosphere throughout the show, it's a unique experience. It's also a unique experience you probably don't get to have if you're not in the northeastern part of the United States, since traveling to Boston is a dicey proposition at the best of times. And most people can't afford to give up rent for a month just to go to a game convention. Obviously, the Massively away team is doing its best to give you a sense of the show floor through our articles about the big reveals, but what about the rest of the festivities? We've collected a gallery of our pictures taken on-site throughout the three-day exposition, and we'll be updating it through the remainder of the weekend. It's the next best thing to being in Boston and standing in line for an hour to see a panel about stuff you already knew! %Gallery-183635% Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 22nd to 24th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
Adobe Revel 1.5 released with new UI, text captions and auto-syncing albums
Adobe's cloud-based photo storage and editing app has been enjoying its new name since it hopped off the Carousel, and now it's appreciating a feature bump too. Version 1.5 has just hit the virtual shelves of the Mac and iTunes stores, complete with a new UI and the option to log in using Facebook or Google accounts. Functionality wise, the update adds text captioning for your snaps and the ability to create albums which auto-sync across your devices and can be shared with others via the web. Alright, so the update isn't revolutionizing the service, but we're sure those that currently subscribe are reveling in it.
Reuters cooks up remote camera rigs for 2012 Olympics, mounts them where humans can't tread
Sure, the 2012 Olympics may be gearing up for HD, 3D and even Super Hi-Vision broadcasts, but that doesn't mean still photography has lost its appeal. In fact, Reuters photographers Fabrizio Bensch and Pawel Kopczynski are taking Olympic photography to the next level, perching remote-controlled camera rigs in stadium rafters. The system, which the duo has been developing since 2009, can turn, adjust focus and receive commands wirelessly. Once stills are snapped, they're sent to an editing system and then off to distribution. The team is spending more than 12 hours a day installing the cams at different Olympic venues before the games kick off on July 27th. In the meantime, you can sprint to the source for photos of the setup.
