picture
Latest
Learn to play Picross in five easy steps
Curious about how Picross DS works? Feel like torturing yourself with preview materials for a game that has yet to be announced for the US? We were, and we did! The European Touch Generations page has a rather nice interactive Flash presentation that demonstrates how to work a Picross puzzle. It describes an aspect of gameplay, demonstrates it with an animation, and then the user can click to the next lesson. Sort of like an animated Powerpoint presentation. At the end of the short presentation, you get a small Picross puzzle.We actually had a pretty hard time grasping the Picross "strategy" before running this demo. So we can give an honest DS Fanboy Testimonial-- It Really, Really Works![Via GoNintendo]
TUAW Exclusive: Skitch screenshot gallery
We've been blogging Skitch, a new 'hybrid' photo editing and web services tool from plasq (makers of Comic Life), since Scott first met and fell in love with it at Macworld 07. Using the app through its development, it's clear that Skitch is going to knock people's socks off, with a well-executed blend of desktop editing and integration with web services like Plasq's new MySkitch and Flickr. For example: a major new feature in an upcoming public beta (that's right, I said 'public': join the mailing list for your chance to get a copy) includes iPhoto and Aperture integration: Simply double-click an item from the library panel shown here to begin applying all manners of Skitch editing. Another feature that brings the 'hybrid' element to the table is Skitch's tight integration with web services. Skitch can send pics to FTP, .Mac and even Flickr accounts, but it also integrations with a new MySkitch service that will debut. MySkitch does a lot of interesting things, like giving you embed code for zoomable thumbnails (ideal for the likes of eBay and blogs with thin columns), a direct link for sending in email and even forum-friendly embed code. Skitch doesn't stop there though: you can also remove images from these web services directly from within Skitch, effectively making it a one-stop management shop for your images both local and otherwise.That's enough blabbing about features for now though. The folks at plasq were kind enough to allow us to publish an exclusive Skitch screenshot gallery, and published we have. Check out more screenshots of Skitch's good side, and don't forget to hit up plasq's mailing list for a chance to snag your own copy when they release an upcoming public beta. %Gallery-2528%
The Gamers' Gallery aims to be web's 'best damned screenshot viewer'
Evil Avatar's Nicholas Puleo (a.k.a. bapenguin) has launched The Gamers' Gallery, described as a public database of screenshots, game data, and news. As the domain name implies, the emphasis is on the images. "The Gamers' Gallery was created because all other screenshot viewers are severely lacking. I really just wanted to create the best damn screenshot viewer on the internet," says Puleo.So did he? Puleo admits TGG is still in its infancy, but the potential is there. Galleries aren't buried behind pages of fluff and the ability to vote and comment on images reinforces the community dynamic -- and adds comic relief. For a small fee ($10/yr) users can become contributing members, unlocking high-res images (without watermarks!) and the ability to create galleries and a custom webpage. We hope subscribers also get a watermark-free experience. Shameless stamping is one lasting "feature" that 'lacking viewers' rarely lack. Let's hope Puleo and staff decide to break the old habit (for the non-subscriber's sake).
Hands-on with the i-mate Momento 70
Thrown together by well-traveled ODM Inventec, i-mate's new Momento series of digital picture frames break some important ground. First of all, they do WiFi -- a seemingly obvious feature for this category of devices that's inexplicably missing from a majority of the mainstream models currently in the marketplace. Next up, the Momento is among the very first commercially available devices to support Microsoft's SideShow concept for secondary displays that should (theoretically, anyway) untether all manner of information from the PCs on which it typically resides. In that respect, the Momento is very much a first-generation device -- but as a picture frame, we came into the hands-on expecting a certain level of refinement, now that they've had a few years to ripen on the vine. Does the unit deliver on its promise as a highly connected, Vista-compatible accessory? Does it deliver as a plain ol' frame, for that matter? We took the $200 Momento 70 -- the smaller of the two, clocking in at 7 inches of diagonal real estate -- for a test drive to get some answers.%Gallery-1792%
Flood of Sonic screens
There's a vast ocean of new Sonic and the Secret Rings images over at Jeux France, and we've put a few behind the jump. Looking at them all at once can be a little overwhelming. Unsurprisingly? Lots of blue in these screens. Take a peek!
More from the DS cat
Remember the cute, yet scary DS kitty? That little Lite-playing furball has been turning up all over, and the site where the picture originated features several other examples of adorable kitty antics. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the only Nintendo-themed set, but we have high hopes that kitty will someday again be tempted by the DS ... or that the owner will decide to encourage more pictures.
Google, Microsoft set to snap aerial photographs on Australia Day
If you were forced to be photographed by airplanes soaring over your homeland in a jovial time of celebration, would you rather Gates & Co. have the negatives, or the future dominator of planet Earth? Aussies will have the option to make their choice on January 26th, as both Microsoft and Google have separately announced flyovers to occur on Australia Day in which high-resolution photographs will be snapped. Microsoft's motive is one with cultural and artsy underpinnings, as the company hopes to arrange individuals in order to form objects, scenes, and colored patterns from above, while Google seeks to cover more of the country for use in Google Maps and is encouraging individuals to distinguish themselves to get a free ride right into its mapping software. So if you're a Down Under native, or you just so happen to be hanging out in Centennial or Moore Park on Friday morning, toss up an Engadget poster, will ya?
Lifehacker script to automate Project 365 with iSight-enabled Macs
Photojojo is a community focused on photography tips, tricks, DIY projects and other kinds of picture-taking goodness. Recently, they introduced Project 365, essentially coining a(nother?) term and offering tips for those take-a-picture-a-day-for-a-year-or-three projects that broke out on the interwebs over the last year or so.Inspired both by this Photojojo post and the recent 'snap a pic of users who commit invalid login attempts' hack, Adam Pash at Lifehacker penned a Photo projects for the New Year post in which he put together a script that can automate this process on iSight-enabled Macs, more or less taking the effort out of your own Project 365. The script can be set to run each time you login (properly, of course) or at a specific time of each day, and Adam includes instructions for tweaking them to your needs. By default, they're set up to snap the pic and save it in ~/project365/pics/, adding a timestamp to the name of each file to help you keep track of everything when you're ready to make your YouTube debut.I think this is a fantastic idea, and now that I have an iSight in both my MacBook and iMac, I think I might actually take a crack at this myself. A big thanks to Adam for putting together such a cool script, and be sure to check out Photojojo's original Project 365 post for tips, motivation and ideas on what to do with 365 pictures of you and/or your stuff.
Chocobo and the magic launch event
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book launched in Japan today and, in full-on Square-Enix fashion, was accompanied by an event in Shinjuku. Consumers were also greeted with this snazzy little pouch as a bonus gift upon purchasing the title. It's said that the final game features over 40 different mini-games and you can bet we will be getting our hands on it should it release stateside.More pictures available after the jump ...See also: More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book Wark! Chocobo coming to the DS Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date Checking out Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
Chotto Shot pictures, videos & impressions [m]
The PSP camera, with Chotto Shot, is now available in Japan, and for import buyers. PSP GadgetZ has some really great pictures of the camera, packaging, and more importantly, pictures taken with the peripheral. According to a translation by PSP-Vault, "He says that the diagonal lines are pretty bad, and that at low light levels, there is a lot of noise in the images. He's also a bit annoyed that you need to remove the camera to transfer data to your PC." The image quality is apparently not too great, but I guess that's expected from a device that costs $50, and not hundreds.Read on to read more about the PSP's new camera accessory.
More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
In the latest update for Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book, some info relating to the game's battle system and characters is revealed. The game is to feature 3 playable characters in (the obvious) Chocobo, Shiroma (a White Mage) and Chromo (the Black Mage responsible for bestowing the book upon our yellow-feathered protagonist). The game's villain is Bebazu, who is sealed within the magical book in the game's title of the same name.The battle system for the game is card-based. Using cards causes them to be gone for good, however after you win each battle you are gifted with new cards, so your deck is very much a renewable resource. It is also said that there will be character cards, like the ones present in Final Fantasy VIII, so discretion is certainly advised.See also: Wark! Chocobo coming to the DS Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date Checking out Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
Video Sandwich: October 24, 2006
The PSP can be a lot of things. It can take pictures, for example. Sony Japan's newest ad shows off the upcoming PSP camera and all the fun things you can do to harass Japanese businessmen. Awesome~! I hope once the device comes to the States, all members of the press start carrying this peripheral around: photos like these will make the news so much more interesting, because everything's at least 30% funnier when a giant afro is transplanted on top of someone's head!But once you've taken such classy photos, you'll want to show them off... with style. An enthusiastic fan has crafted an elaborate, elegant wooden frame for his PSP. Just drop the PSP in and let it display your photos. It'll look a whole lot cooler than a traditional photo frame, and it'll kill a lot less trees. And we love trees, don't we?
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom + Flickr Uploadr
Fraser Speirs already released a Flickr plugin for Aperture, but what about the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom users in the crowd (John Gruber has a nice piece on the ridiculousness of adding the 'Photoshop' prefix to Lightroom's name)? As it turns out, through a little trickery, Lightroom can be tweaked for uploading your images to Flickr.This Mac OS X Hints post describes the simple setup, as well as a couple of drawbacks, to using Lightroom and the official Flickr Uploadr tool in conjunction; one simply needs to change the external editor preference to the Flickr Uploadr, then chose the Uploadr as the option from the Post-processing page during an export. Check out Mac OS X Hints though for more details and possible inspiration for asking Mr. Speirs (nicely) for a true-blue Lightroom Flickr plugin.
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book trailer
Everyone loves the chocobo. And why not? He's got his own theme music, he's the best ride in all of Final Fantasy, and then there's the whole "Wark!" business. No one can resist the fluffy giant chicken. You think you can? Oh, brother, we have something for you. It's the new Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book trailer, and it is cuteness personified. No matter how crusty or curmudgeonly you think you are, this trailer is guaranteed to make you murmur, "Aww," at least once. And hey, these days, it's hip to be sensitive. Just let it out, man. We won't tell. The trailer is embedded after the jump, and it really is just as precious as ... well ... things that are extra precious, like babies and gold rings with scribbles. Even malboros, one of the most fearsome enemies in the FF-verse, seem totally cuddly, despite our memories of their bad breath.
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date
While there is still no word if the US will see the Square-Enix Final Fantasy spin-off, Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book, those who plan on importing it anyway will be pleased to hear that it got a release date. Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book will reach Japanese shelves December 14, 2006. With the web site up and screenshots a plenty, we hope to hear more about the title coming to the States. Square certainly is showing the love for gamers this year. This Fall has been a Final Fantasy overload and now they are hitting us with spin-offs. Square, we love you. [Via Go Nintendo]
Haven't Seen Him Since He Went AFK Bio
See, this is exactly the kind of stuff that makes that psychologist lady think we're all crazy.Salt from Spinebreaker points us to a picture (above) that some enterprising (and extremely thirsty) player has taken. It's a bunch of cans (147, according to someone on the Forum who might actually have counted them) of Dr. Pepper, laid on the floor and spelling out the name of our beloved pasttime. At least it was all cans of Dr. Pepper, and not his less-educated brother, Mr. Pibb.Pretty impressive. But give me a call when someone does a color version of the Burning Crusade logo.
PicturePopPro - powerful picture viewer Finder plugin
If you need a quick way to browse a few folders of images without starting iPhoto or some other serious photo management software, PicturePopPro just might be the Finder plugin for you. It offers right-click access to a surprisingly powerful yet slim and zippy photo browser and mini-manager. Images and directory structures can be viewed in a number of different ways, and a pop-up menu offers the ability to trash or label the image, as well as open it in its default viewer/editor (like Preview or Photoshop). This killer plugin can even be run in a full screen mode, and there are plenty of other options I haven't even explored yet. Check out its documentation page for visual demos, keyboard shortcuts and screenshots of what this plugin is capable of.PicturePopPro is a Universal Binary and offered as donationware from setnan.org.
Change desktop wallpaper with an Automator action
Sometimes randomly rotating your desktop wallpaper through the Desktop System Preferences pane is just a little overkill. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a simple drag-and-drop Automator action for setting your own wallpaper whenever your heart desired a change of pace? Then why not use this macosxhints post to make one. A few simple steps creates an action that you save as an app somewhere (I named my action 'Wallpaper') and simply link to in your Dock. For added convenience I saved it as a Finder plugin so I can right-click any picture I find to quickly chose Automator > Wallpaper from the context menu. Handy.As an extra tip: make sure you turn off automatic wallpaper rotation in the Desktop Preferences pane if it's on. Otherwise, at least from my testing, this action won't work.
Fraser Speirs: "who wants me to make an ApertureExport?"
Fraser Speirs, creator of the highly useful FlickrExport and other apps, is asking for feedback on his blog as to whether users would be interested in a similar ApertureExport app. He warns that ApertureExport wouldn't be quite as well tied into Aperture as FlickrExport is to iPhoto, and this is due to the current version of Aperture (apparently) lacking a plugin API.Still, if the idea of being able to point at a feature in your own copy of ApertureExport some day and telling your friends "that was my idea!" sounds appealing, head over to Mr. Speirs' post and toss in your $0.02.
Starbucks contest features image recognition via MMS
If you're looking for the most high-tech way to win a trip to Costa Rica, we think we've got your answer right here. Starbucks' Summer Pursuit game uses trivia questions sent via SMS to weed out contestants -- nothing too interesting there, but answers can be sent with a reply text or by MMSing a picture of the answer to an email address. Seems a bit dangerous to us, since we're guessing the recognition rate isn't 100% and we Americans sure do like to sue when things don't go our way -- but if it means we can snap a pic of "triple Venti extra-hot sugar-free hazelnut soy latte" instead of typing it in via T9, we're all for it.[Via textually.org]
