shoebox
Latest
Connect with your 8mm memories using YesVideo's app and a TUAW discount
Nothing says "analog" like a shoebox full of old videotapes, Super 8 movies and slides. Even if you wanted to watch them (or subject friends / kids to them), digging out the old projector or VCR is a dicey proposition. Converting film to video or digital storage is possible to achieve DIY, but can be daunting and/or expensive -- although with an HDSLR, the results can be pretty cool. If you'd rather pay than tinker, there are scores of shops and services, ranging from LargeCos to small local shops, that will happily tackle the task of digitizing your old media. One of the biggest in the space -- more than 10 million home videos made into bits already, $50 million in 2012 retail revenue -- is YesVideo. YesVideo offers convenient drop-off locations at thousands of drugstores, megamarts and shopping clubs, and it provides hosted Web access to your converted movies in addition to the traditional DVD delivery. Submitted movies and other materials are processed domestically in either the eastern (Norcross, GA) or western (Santa Clara, Calif.) YesVideo facility. Although the Web library at YesVideo is HTML5 savvy and works with iOS and Android, the company is taking the next step today and launching an iPhone app. Users can watch all their digitized content in the app, chapter by chapter or a full movie at a time. Clips are shareable over Facebook and via email, and of course the app is AirPlay-friendly for inflicting your memories on a roomful of people at once via your Apple TV. You can also track the progress of an open digitizing order in the app. Do you have one of those aforementioned shoeboxes hanging around? As a special treat for TUAW readers, YesVideo is offering a 30 percent discount on conversion orders until April 1. Prepare your order at direct.yesvideo.com, then enter "TUAW" in the coupon field. You can request an EasyShip Kit from YesVideo, or just ship your movies to the conversion facility in the box you're currently using to hold them (assuming it's not disintegrating from age and neglect).
Rock out in the iPad concert theater
Gary Katz has a talent for making things out of shoe boxes. We told you about his miniature iPhone movie theater back in February, but now he's moved onto bigger and better things. Using a shoe box, some concert photographs he found using Google Images, and glue, Katz has created an iPad concert theater. The theater even features moving audience members. I'm going to let the video below speak for itself. If, after watching it, you want to create your own iPad theater but don't have the craft skills, Katz sells personal theater kits for only US$9.99.
Like the iPhone Movie Theater? You'll love the Personal Shoebox Apple Store!
If you liked the iPhone Personal Movie Theater, you're gonna love the Personal Shoebox Apple Store. Made with a shoebox, two iPhones, and a lot of love, it even has a Mini Cooper driving by the Grand Opening. One of the iPhones powers the screen behind the Genius Bar, while the other lights up the Apple logo outside the store. You can buy the iPhone Personal Movie Theater and Drive In kits from http://www.personalmovietheater.com/, but I'm really hoping that a Personal Shoebox Apple Store kit is forthcoming so that my lack of craft skills will be no impediment to having an Apple Store in my house. These wonderful shoebox creations are the work of Gary Katz, and the latest shows a true love for the Apple brand. Well done, sir! [via iPhone Savior]
MacBundleBox: 15 apps for 50 bucks
MacBundleBox is offering 15 Mac applications for $49.95: an 85 percent discount (compared to buying each app individually). The apps included are: Headline - A full-featured RSS/ATOM feed reader with an ultra-minimal UI. Mac Pilot 3 - A system optimization and customization utility. iConquer - A game not unlike Risk. Mahjong Forests - A traditional mahjong game. Shoebox Express - A solution for organizing all your photos by content. Caboodle - A way to collect random snippets of text or images on your machine. Narrator - A program that will read out stories in multiple voices. WriteRoom - A distraction-free word-processor, and possibly the most popular app in the bundle. Scribbles - A simple drawing utility. Money - An accounting app. Operation - A simple project management application. Aurora - An iTunes-integrated alarm clock. Compositor - A CoreGraphics-based image editor. Sofa Control - Allows you to control your applications remotely, using an Apple Remote. MacBundleBox is available directly from their website.
