FoundFootage
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Found Footage: Three iPhones, one video
This video, called Trapped in an Phone (watchable after the break), is pretty ingenious. Artists Ronen Verbit and Vanya Polunin apparently took three different videos and assembled them to play on three different iPhones, both standing on their own and moved around as they play to fit different setups. Make sure you stick around to the end as well, where there's a little fourth wall breaking, some also-ingenious credits made possible by an iPhone, and the revelation that the whole thing was apparently filmed by an iPhone, too (you can see the reflection in the last shot). Pretty wild stuff. [via RazorianFly and Cult of Mac]
Found Footage: mashup fun with the iPad, iPhone and iMovie
Here's a fun one for the first Sunday of 2011. Ellen Hinton (Ellen Once Again) found herself talking with family and friends about how the iPad and iPhone were more than just "toys" and decided to prove it. With a MIDI interface, an array of music apps and a little time in iMovie ... well, read on to see for yourself as she performs a mashup of Train's "Hey Soul Sister" and Yael Naim's "New Soul" with full iPhone and iPad accompaniment.
Found Footage: An iPad-controlled robot that attacks
Thanks to the iPad and TouchOSC, robot Hikari can now be controlled by our favorite tablet device. The system for control on the iPad is powered by TouchOSC, a remote control application that sends commands to an external device using the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol. These commands are sent to a Max patch running on a Windows-based PC. Commands are then relayed directly to the PC-connected robot. In the YouTube video after the break, owner Darkback2 uses this system to make Hikari walk and stand up from both a face-up and a face-down position. You should watch out, though, as the iPad controller can also be used to make Hikari attack, an action that fits in nicely with the video's drum-heavy theme music. For those that are wondering, ... no, robot Hikari does not dance. Thanks Bob for sending this in!
MacBook Air versus PowerBook 145B video smackdown
The oldsters at TUAW (yeah, I'm one of 'em) just love it when someone does a comparison of some nice new shiny Apple technology with Michael Spindler-era Apple products. Today's example comes from TUAW reader and Duke University sociology professor Kieran Healy, who kept the PowerBook 145B that helped him throughout grad school. As he says in the blog post accompanying the video (after the break), "despite being such a seemingly underpowered dinosaur, it (the Powerbook) nevertheless cold-booted faster than any computer I've owned since." That "dinosaur" had a 25 MHz 68030 processor, 4MB of RAM, and a huge (for the time) 40MB hard disk drive. Healy recent purchased an 11" MacBook Air, which he put to the test versus the aging speedster. The Air won handily in the bootup race, loading OS X and even a few applications (I saw 1Password appearing on the Air's screen) before the PowerBook finished loading all of those extensions. Enjoy the video, and especially the final shot comparing the size of the two laptops.
Found Footage: Steve Jobs demonstrates NeXT Step
Here's a great piece of Apple history. In this video (check it out after the break), Steve Jobs gives a demonstration of a NeXT computer. You'll remember that Steve formed NeXT in 1995 after being ousted from Apple. Years later, in 1996, Apple purchased NeXT after Steve's return. Much of the current Mac OS X system is built on the OPENSTEP foundation. You needn't look too closely to see the predecessors of Mac OS X, like the dock, the services menu, the home directory and windows that display their contents while being dragged. It's also interesting to hear Steve put the Mac down on a couple of occasions. For a nice illustration of how NeXT features became a part of Mac OS X, look here. Looking at this, one could argue that Steve's dismissal from Apple was the best thing that happened to the Mac OS. [Via Reddit]
Found Footage: Injection molding process for the Glif
Over the holiday weekend, we noted that the Glif is now available for ordering (although it's not shipping quite yet). The iPhone 4 stand / tripod mount gadget is a triple threat: functional, attractively designed and the owner of a great backstory. The Glif guys wanted to share the experience of producing their product, so they released a short video covering the injection molding process out in South Dakota. If you're a fan of the Science Channel's hypnotic How It's Made show, you'll dig this clip. It's embedded in the second half of this post. Again, congratulations to team Glif on taking their idea from the napkin stage to physical realization. Thanks to Dustin for the heads-up.
Found Footage: The Woz on how Apple got its name
For all you trivia buffs who may not know the real story, TV Deck has posted a short video where the Woz explains exactly how Apple got its name. An amazing thing is that Steve Wozniak didn't really know himself until recently. The quality of the video isn't the best, but for all you completists, this is today's geeky cocktail party conversation starter. Click "Read More" to catch the video.
Found Footage: iPhone concert on the B train
It's time for another installment of our favorite viral program, "Bands You've Never Heard Of Play A Song On Their iPhones." In this case, the band is Brooklyn's Atomic Tom, the song is the decidedly catchy Take Me Out, and the performance is live on the 6th Avenue line of the New York City subways, crossing the Manhattan Bridge on the B train. Add the degree of difficulty of shooting the video on iPhones, the noise and lighting challenges of the train, and the likelihood of an overeager "see something, say something" New Yorker getting the boys into trouble with the transit cops -- all in all, an impressive effort. Thanks Howdy! [via NYT Bits, Daily What and The Loop]
Found Footage: Chinese Steve Jobs clone intros new iPhone app
The amazing presentation skills of Steve Jobs have been the topic of many articles, but it's downright rare to see an entire press event done by a Steve Jobs clone -- especially one who is speaking in Chinese. The press conference in question was held yesterday in Hong Kong to celebrate the launch of the MTR Mobile subway app. This is an impressive app, using augmented reality to show the location of stations, displaying schedules and maps, and including a helpful route planner. It's also incredible for finding local goods and services. The clone at the conference was local celebrity Law Kar-ying, who has obviously watched enough Stevenotes to pick up a lot of the mannerisms of His Steveness, including "One More Thing," gulping bottled water, and plucking an iDevice from his jeans pocket. He's even wearing a close facsimile of the Jobsian wardrobe of a black St. Croix mock turtleneck, Levi's 501 jeans, and New Balance 991 shoes. As Winandmac.com reports, the Steve clone did something that Jobs never does at press events -- he gave away four iPhone 4's to audience members. Perhaps the real Jobs can learn a lesson here... Check out the video (in Chinese) after the break. [via Engadget]
Found Footage: The $900 'Mac Pro' in a cardboard box
Plato said, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions." He must have been talking about the guys at One Block Off the Grid, which is a cooperative of sorts for buying photovoltaic solar panels at a group discount. One of their staff members was running into issues trying to run Adobe After Effects on a slower Mac, so they had another staff member -- Kalvin -- build a fast hackintosh in the Amazon cardboard box that all the computer parts came in. That price doesn't include the labor involved in putting it all together, and it originally had a rather odd power switch, which was a standard jumper stuck on the end of a plastic cable tie. The computer itself has pretty good specs, with a 2.66 Intel Core i5 CPU, a 1 TB hard drive, 8 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM, and an XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 Graphics Card. To run Snow Leopard on this computer, Kalvin used iBoot and MultiBeast. As noted on the 1BOG blog, "this procedure may potentially violate Apple's End User License Agreement for Mac OS X." On the other hand, it's a great way to get a fast computer and not spend a lot of bucks.
Found Footage: Woz on Big Bang Theory
Nerds squealed with delight last night as the geekiest comedy on American television, The Big Bang Theory, featured a cameo by Steve Wozniak. The Apple co-founder played himself in a brief scene with the gang from the show (Is that his daughter next to him at the table?). He was pretty funny and seemed comfortable on camera. In fact, Steve is an old hand at TV by now, having appeared on Dancing With The Stars and My Life on the D-List. In case you missed it, you can watch it above (sorry about the audio quality -- we'll keep an eye out for the official version). Good job, Woz!
Found Footage: A look at European FaceTime ads
Apple's advertising for the FaceTime video chat feature on the iPhone 4 is emotional and effective, and now the ads are making it to the European market. All of the ads are backed with the universally-known voice of Louis Armstrong singing "When You're Smiling," and there is no audible dialog, so these ads can be used in just about any European market. So far, they've made it to the U.K., Italy, and Spain. The ads are sponsored by carriers 3Italia, Vodafone, and Orange. Click the Read More link to view the videos. [via Macstories.net]
Found Footage: A clever iPod nano name badge
Although my Apple addiction usually means that I have to run out and buy whatever new shiny thing has flown out of Cupertino, I've been able to resist getting one of the new iPod nanos. My iPhone plays music and movies, and I don't wear watches, so I really haven't been impressed. Until now, that is. tipster Huey from Smack Dab Studios sent us a link to the video you see above. It's a simple idea; create name tag images, move them to the nano, then play them in a slide show while the nano is clipped to your pocket or lapel. The result? Something that will definitely capture the eyes of people you meet. It's certainly an attention-getter, and it's a lot better than those sticky "HI, My Name Is Steve" labels that they love to hand out at meetings and get-togethers. Of course, you could buy a lot of sticky labels for the cost of an iPod nano, but they just aren't as cool.
Found Footage: iPod touch 4G goes head to head with iPhone 4
A site called Letem Svetem Applem has put together some performance comparison videos with the iPhone 4 and the new iPod touch, and the results may surprise you. In the startup speed test, the iPad actually beat all of the other iDevices, and the new iPod touch barely beats the iPhone 4 (but all of them were faster than last year's iPhone 3GS, so your upgrade was not in vain). The iPod touch's camera looks slightly darker than the iPhone 4's, and perhaps most interesting, the displays of the iPhone 4 and iPod touch look pretty different. The Retina Display on the iPod touch looks just as sharp, but without the in-plane switching tech found on the iPhone and the iPad, the sides of the display are slightly muddier. Some of the YouTube comments on the speed video claim that if your iPhone or iPad is stuffed with music, documents, or apps, the speed will be affected, but I'm not sure how much of a factor that actually plays on startup (not to mention that we're talking seconds here -- not nearly enough to judge a purchase by). But Apple's claim that the iPod touch is sporting the same Retina Display as the iPhone appears to be missing the mark a bit. Watch all of the comparison videos right after the break below. [via AppleInsider]
No Comment: Newsday's iPad TV ad is awfully buggy
Update: It appears Newsday has had to pull the video (embed left for posterity below). Rumor has it Apple forced them to do it. Which is sad. There are certainly advantages to having your morning newspaper in iPad format: dynamic media, rapid updating, search and more... but not every aspect of the new digital age is an improvement over the old ink-on-dead-trees approach to the news. We wouldn't want to spoil the fun of Newsday's ad for its new iPad app, so we'll simply give you the video with No Comment. [via Silicon Alley Insider]
Found Footage: Project 2000 from 1988 on the direction of computing
This video has been around for quite a long time, but my guess is that you haven't seen it. It posits how future computers will used for education and literacy. Watching it you'll be taken by how much they got right and how other concepts got short shrift. One surprising thing is that it focuses almost totally on voice input and doesn't mention the concept of a touch screen interface. Instead it displays a trackball-type device with four buttons that doesn't presage multi-touch devices. A good deal of the footage was taken from 1987's Knowledge Navigator video which got a lot more play at the time. Project 2000 includes interviews with: Steve Wozniak on the start of computing in education and personal agents Diane Ravitch, the past director of the Encyclopedia Britannica, on using computers to motivate students and the challenges of adult literacy Alan Kay on computer simulation and visualization Alvin Toffler, most known as the author of Future Shock, on text translations Ray Bradbury on a variety of subjects The most talked about topic is hypermedia, the most integrated concept in modern computing and a major building block of the World Wide Web which was six years old at the time, however the WWW isn't mentioned. Oops my mistake. The World Wide Web starting with the Mosaic browser didn't happen until 1993. This is illuminative viewing and if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend you do so. The differences between what the speakers saw as the future and how things turned out is quite enlightening. Thanks Eric for sending this in.
Found Footage: Last week's SteveFest in three minutes
We're all busy people, and I'm sure that many of us missed the iPod/Apple TV SteveFest on the first. Once again, Neil Curtis, master of cutting to the chase, has created a three-minute version of the 75-minute presentation. Previously, Neil did a very short version of the adjective enhanced iPad rollout; he's very good at this sort of thing. This little video (making wonderful use of music) only mentions stores "with people" in them, the new iPods, the Game Center, Ping, and the underwhelming new Apple TV. I've been through the full video a number of times, and nowhere does Steve mention just what resolution he's talking about when he says HD. In my opinion, this is a bag of hurt...but maybe that's just me. There's also some Lady Gaga in the video. So, don't expect anything about iOS 4.2 or anything iOS related. It's worth a look and will probably give you a chuckle or two. Keep up the good work, Neil.
Found Footage: WNBC anchor shows Earl via iPad
Nobody ever claimed that the iPad was weatherproof, but that didn't stop news anchor Chuck Scarborough from taking his tablet out to the seashore. Reader Michael Neumann saw the veteran NYC broadcaster using his iPad to show weather radar during Hurricane Earl's race up the US east coast. He could have saved money on that case, though. Chuck's app of choice looks to be the Weather Channel's iPad offering, but we've seen lots of TV-centric solutions for the magical and revolutionary gadget. If you have a favorite clip or featured appearance of the iPad on the tube, drop a link in the comments below. Thanks Michael!
Found Footage: MacOSXTutorials explores Mac Dropbox tips
As a Dropbox fan, I am always looking for new uses for the ubiquitous cloud storage service. Matt Fisher, whose videos have been featured on TUAW before, has produced a new video chock-full of great Mac OS X Dropbox tips. In this 10-minute clip, Matt shows: How to copy the Mac clipboard to a Dropbox text file by creating an Automator service A demo of AirDropper, an excellent way of securely requesting files from others and having them delivered via Dropbox How to email files to Dropbox using Habilis A quick way to access your Dropbox using a Chrome Extension (also available for Firefox) Start torrents from any computer or device connected to Dropbox Add PDFs to iBooks Edit files from anywhere using Droptext Some of these tips are rather straightforward, while others are incredible "why didn't I think of that" ideas that can really help make you more productive. What are your favorite things to do with Dropbox and your Mac? Leave us a comment.
Found Footage: The iPad Orchestra
The iPad is gaining a solid reputation as a musician's infinite instrument, and nothing demonstrates this better than this video of The iPad Orchestra by Alex Shpil. Four musicians, all using the Seline HD app on amplified iPads, play a piece called "Sweet Dream" composed by Ilya Plavunov. The quartet consists of cello, flute, violin, and clarinet. The result is... magical. Thanks to Toyo for the tip!
