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When autocorrect goes adorably wrong during the iPad Air 2 presentation
Autocorrect comes for us all someday, telling our loved ones they're petty instead of pretty or removing the righteous fire from a angry text when it censors your profanity. Autocorrect comes for us all, even when we least expect it. Like during a high profile presentation for the iPad Air 2, as happened yesterday. You can see the looks of frustration on Jeff Boudier and François Lagunas faces as the iPad's autocorrect turns "Utah road trip" into "It's road trip." Enjoy below. We've even included a gif version of the moment under the video for you Tumblr fans out there. Remember autocorrect happens to all of us. Just roll with it, and smile.
Old Navy's machine turns your selfies into giant balloon art
Want to do more with your selfies than post them on Instagram for the umpteenth time? Old Navy might have a way to make them stand out... if just for a brief, glorious moment. The clothing shop is kicking off its 20th birthday by creating the Selfiebration machine, a 15 foot tall behemoth that converts Twitter photos into balloon art. All you do is tweet a photo to Old Navy with the #selfiebration hashtag -- after that, the device (co-designed by Deeplocal) rasterizes your self-portrait and displays it on a grid of nearly 1,000 balloons that inflate to different sizes.
Here's a GIF of the iPhone's evolution from 2G to 6 Plus
When you gaze upon the iPhone 6 the machine that lays in front of you barely resembles its great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the 2G. That difference becomes readily apparent when you see this GIF showcasing the iPhone's evolution over the years. By animating the changes between generations, the GIF's creator made it easy to spot the sometimes subtle changes that occur with each new step. Enjoy.
Artist creates hilariously surreal GIFs from Library of Congress photos
Despite the myriad communication options we as a technologically advanced have at our fingertips (literally), sometimes nothing gets our point across better than a GIF. Despite the amount of weird ones (and arty samples) we've seen, none quite hit the vibe that Droga5's art director Kevin Weir concocts though. As This Is Colossal has spotted, Weir uses historic images from the Library of Congress' online archives to create the sometimes creepy animated photos you see above and below. Weir says that he started making these in an effort to keep himself busy during downtime at a grad-program internship, and has since started posting them to his blog Flux Machine. Next time you need a trump card in a GIF war, well, now you have another place to look.
Crush Tiny Titan's spirits in Madden 15 challenge
By now, you might have heard of Tiny Titan, one of the more adorable glitches to pop up recently in the Madden NFL series. The little sprout of a linebacker has the heart of a champion, but also has troubles fielding kick-offs and tackling runners. Rather than ignore the glitch entirely, EA Sports opted to turn Tiny Titan into a Madden Ultimate Team solo challenge in Madden 15. Those that log in to the card-collecting, team-building mode this weekend can play against a special Browns squad on rookie difficulty with the miniature phenom leading the defense. We'd say he bites on play action passes, but it's really more of a nibble. Beating the challenge gives players a Tiny Titan collectible item that can be sold for 1,000 coins, if you don't have any kindness left in your soul. [Image: EA Sports]
Double fumbles, Kaepernicking and Manningfaces in Madden 15
We're just one day away from the launch of Madden NFL 15. Normally that means you'd have some splashy launch trailer or crazy commercial starring comedians to watch. Not today! Welcome to the modern era of video games, where your "select" buttons now read "share," and your launch trailers are now GIFs of 400-pound running backs leaping over other people. Trust us, it's better this way. Check out the double-fumble-safety that happened to us in the video after the break, as well as our gallery of totally-moving pictures of the game below. Our captions also explain some of the improvements in this year's Madden, including "overhauled" controls on defense and the football strategy drills in the Skills Trainer mode. [Image: EA Sports]
GIFYouTube does exactly what its name implies
Not sure how to make an animated GIF? Don't worry, you don't have to learn a darn thing -- an unofficial web tool will do it for you. The website, simply named GIFYouTube, does exactly what it sounds like: it converts your favorite streaming video into an animated image. It's ridiculously easy to use (simply adding "GIF" to the front of any video URL kicks off the process), but it isn't perfect: GIFs only output in the above size for now, and the user controls are limited to selecting the animation's start time and duration. We also found that it only worked consistently in Chrome. That said, it's a neat tool, and its creators plan to add Webm and caption support in the near future. Want to check it out? Well, click right here.
The Xbox One is getting major media updates: here's a breakdown
Microsoft has just kicked off Gamescom 2014 by announcing a plethora of new features coming to the Xbox One -- some you may have known about, and some not. First up is a much anticipated feature: a new app will soon turn the Xbox One into a media player, letting you stream movie and audio files from a USB key or DLNA network. Microsoft's Major Nelson has promised that the console will support many more media formats than the Xbox 360 did, including new file types like MPEG2 TS, animated GIF and MKV. A preview version of the app will arrive first with USB support, while DLNA and certain file formats like MKV won't come until later. (For a list of compatible file formats, check the source, and look after the break for a demo of the new features.)
Share iconic movie quotes with Quotacle's GIF maker
We love a great idea, but when it doesn't pan out as expected, it's easy to get really bummed out. Today's poorly executed great idea is called Quotacle, a web database of hundred of movies (not a typo) that lets you pull up choice quotes and export a GIF. That all sounds great, beyond the limited library, but each clip is far longer than it needs to be, resulting in a low resolution, yet very large file that dramatically minimizes the impact of an otherwise punchy quote. We took the liberty of cleaning up the Anchorman bit seen above, which just wasn't effective at the 11 seconds you'll find on Quotacle. Still, the site's a decent resource for pulling up random flicks, and you can download an MP4 version instead and handle the GIF building on your own.
Twitter now lets you share gifs on the web, Android and iPhone
And there was much rejoicing.
The Otto is an adorable point-and-shoot for making GIFs
It looks like a baby's first camera, but the blue and black plastic Otto camera is more than just a toy-like point-and-shoot. It's a camera made specifically with the intention of creating instant GIFs -- you know, these things? -- and it's pretty delightful. It operates a lot like Vine or Instagram video, in that you simply turn the crank (yes, really) to record. When you're done capturing silliness, you push the GIF directly to your phone over a shared WiFi network. Easy! There's a video of the Otto in action just below, as well as a pretty great GIF with Shaquille O'Neal looking sassy. Can you resist?
Take-Two makes it rain $1 billion more in fiscal 2014
Take-Two reported net revenue of $2.35 billion for fiscal 2014 (the year ending March 31, 2014), a 94 percent growth from its reported revenue of $1.21 billion in 2013. It also reported a net income of $361.7 million, which compares rather favorably to the net loss of $31.2 million it suffered last year. As of the end of fiscal 2014, Take-Two had "cash and cash equivalents of $935.4 million," plenty to make it rain a few times. As for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, Take-Two's net revenue was $195.2 million, a 34.8 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year ($299.5 million). It also reported a net loss of $30.8 million for the quarter, which compares to the net gain of $21.2 million reported in Q4 2013. The publisher's digitally-delivered revenue increased 65 percent year-over-year to $435.1 million on a non-GAAP basis (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). In its earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick noted that Grand Theft Auto Online was the "single largest contributor" to the company's digital revenue growth. Take-Two also reported that it has shipped 33 million copies of GTA 5 to date. Looking ahead to the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2015), Take-Two projects its non-GAAP net revenue to fall between $1.35 billion and $1.45 billion, and anticipates its net revenue between $120 million and $135 million for the next quarter, also on a non-GAAP basis.
Here are some of the best reaction GIFs according to Reddit
Sometimes there's no better way to respond to a story or a comment than with an animated GIF. Specifically, a reaction GIF, which should be no stranger to anyone who's ever spent a significant amount of time in online chat rooms and internet message boards. And out of the millions of GIFs out there, a few have risen to the top. Which ones? Well, the Museum of the Moving Image has asked the Reddit community to come up with what it deems as the 37 most frequently deployed GIFs on the internet for an exhibit. After looking through the submissions, we have to admit there are definitely some familiar GIFs on here (We've seen the Homer Simpson fading into the bushes animation one too many times for example). If you want to check out the whole list, either head over to the source link or visit the museum in-person before the exhibit closes on May 15th. Meanwhile, we've decided to pair up some of our latest stories with a few from the list for a bit of fun. Check 'em out after the break.
The animated GIF as art: Google puts six loopy images on display
It's easy to sneer at the idea of artists piggybacking on the GIF craze, but Google is taking the whole thing pretty seriously, especially now that Google+ supports the animated file format. The search giant is collaborating with the Saatchi Gallery in West London to host a number of looped moving images, displayed on giant TV screens, which it feels are worthy of public recognition. There's a hint of competitiveness, as a panel of judges (including His Artiness, Baz Luhrmann) will select a single winning GIF tonight. In the meantime, we've embedded the finalists from six different image categories after the break, ranked according to how much we like them and whether any of the artists are mates of ours.
How to create an animated GIF from your existing burst mode photos
Burst mode shooting in iOS 7 captures a series of quick-fire photos, allowing you to grab that perfect shot that you likely would have missed if you were taking photos one at a time. When you are done shooting, you are left with a single entry in your Photos app that contains all the photos in that burst. In just a few steps, you can convert that series of shots into a delightful animated GIF. The first thing you need to do is to select all the photos in the burst shot and extract them to your camera roll as individual shots as follows: Open the Photos app and find your burst mode shot Tap a thumbnail then tap "Choose Favorites" Swipe through each shot and tap the circle at the bottom right of a photo to mark each one that you want to keep Tap Done and choose to keep everything if prompted After this step, all your burst mode photos should appear in the camera roll as individual shots. These photos then can be imported into your favorite animated GIF app and tweaked as needed. For animated GIFs, I use Giffer because it allows you to quickly and easily import photos into the app and has options to create reverse and looping yo-yo GIFs as shown below. Giffer is available as a $2.99 app with basic features and a $3.99 Pro version that supports bigger and longer GIF sequences.
Cinemagram update takes all the work out of making animated gifs
Playing around with Cinemagram's moving photo feature is pretty darn fun, but it comes at a cost: effort. Unlike publishing a Vine or an Instagram video, you need to think about it; what part of this photo do you want to animate? Did you map out the moving area correctly? It's a lot of work. Well, it used to be. The app's latest iOS update takes all the guesswork out of creativity, adding a new camera mode that automatically creates Cinemagrams without your input. Presumably, the update will make it easier to snap and share moving pictures on the fly, giving you a reason to pick it over its competitors. The update gives users the ability to add captions to Cines as well as the ability to share to Pinterest -- unfortunately, the app hasn't automated that just yet.
Pinterest adds the ability to play GIFs, makes your boards much more interesting
You'll now be able to play GIFs on Pinterest, meaning your cooking, exercise-inspiration and arts-and-crafts boards are about to get a lot more lively. Sure, you've probably seen a GIF or two on the site already, but the new ability to view the graphics in their full, animated glory without clicking through is definitely welcome. And thanks to a play/pause button, you'll be able to start and stop them as you please. According to the Pinterest blog, GIFs will soon be available on the mobile apps -- for now, though, they're limited to the desktop. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be porting our favorite animated photos from Tumblr (along with an Engadget classic or two) to a brand-new board.
Yahoo Sports for iOS adds Loops for capturing clutch catches, epic fails
Fancy making your own social media commentary during the big game? Yahoo Sports for iOS now lets you capture those monster dunks in animated GIF form. The company has officially labeled the creations Loops, and users can add their own commentary as captions on top of the moving picture. As you might expect, files can then be shared via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and e-mail. Not to be left out, the app was revamped for iOS 7 with speedier performance in its sneakers. For a look at some samples, click over to the source link and take a peek.
Trio of gifs paint The Vanishing of Ethan Carter as pretty, eerie
Screenshots are so 2009, so instead developer The Astronauts has opted to issue three new glimpses at The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in the Internet's favorite movie format, the gif. Problematically, The Astronauts are duly proud of their work and wanted to make these gifs as grand as possible, resulting in moving images that were approaching 20MB in size. The above gif, and the two below the break, have been reduced in size and quality to prevent our readers' computers from bursting into flames, but if you'd like to see the original versions visit The Astronauts website. That gif above is a demonstration of what The Astronauts call "photogrammetric technology," a process that makes rendering highly detailed scenes both quicker and more efficient. It won't replace artists per se, but will instead augment their work.
Cinemagram expands its horizons to Android, lets you create animated GIFs on the fly
The iOS legion has been able to play around with Cinemagram since February of last year, but now it's finally time for Android users to also experience what the app's all about. And while there are certainly other animated applications on the platform that are somewhat similar, Cinemagram stands out from the majority due to its built-in social features -- think of it as an Instagram of sorts, where other users can easily comment on and keep up with your recent four-second creations. What's more, the app allows other tidbits like special effects to be added to videos, while the ability to share these "GIFs on steroids" to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are also options within Cinemagram. It's even already had one update, adding the ability to delete creations within the app. Hey, perhaps this could be the solution to all your Vine-induced sorrows.
