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TUAW first look and giveaway: Courier simplifies Mac media sharing
Sharing your files, photos, movies, and images with others through online services can sometimes be a hassle for Mac users. For some of us, it's possible to get all of the various interconnections between services set up in such a way that one tweet sends a photo to Facebook, Flickr, and a variety of other services. But for a surprising number of Mac users, it just isn't that easy. Realmac Software is in the business of making things easy. They're the folks who make website design easy with RapidWeaver, and they've just come out with a tool to make media sharing as easy as putting a stamp on an envelope. Courier (US$19.95 introductory price) is designed so that anyone, even your Mom, can easily upload photos, movies, and the like to a pile of services. A download of Courier is available for a limited trial, and you can make an in-app purchase of the app if you like it. We're going to be giving away five copies of Courier to TUAW readers, so read up on how the app works and then enter the giveaway. Check out the gallery below for a few screenshots, and then read on for a look at this Mac application. %Gallery-101620%
Royalty-free H.264 is a big win for HTML5, big loss for Flash
Update: Mozilla responds, saying that by 2014 (when the original fee-free license for H.264 would have expired) chances are the codec won't be relevant anymore. So far, one of the main arguments against widespread implementation of HTML5 video has been the uncertain licensing future of the H.264 standard. Proponents of Flash video and organizations committed to license-free software, like the Mozilla foundation, said that while H.264 was currently royalty-free (and would remain so until 2015), there was no guarantee that MPEG LA wouldn't start charging licensing fees later on. In that event, if HTML5 had supplanted Flash as the de facto standard for video on the web, it would have meant that organizations and possibly even end users would have found themselves saddled with onerous fees after 2015. That theoretical stumbling block has disappeared. MPEG LA has announced that H.264 will be royalty-free forever so long as video encoded with the standard is free to end users. This means sites like YouTube and vimeo will never be charged licensing fees to serve video on the web; presumably, it also means that Apple will continue to pay licensing fees to sell videos in the iTunes Store. Mozilla's Firefox browser doesn't currently support HTML5 video (via H.264, that is -Ed); the uncertainty of H.264's licensing future meant Mozilla wanted to stick with Ogg Theora, a video codec Mozilla believed would be unencumbered by patenting issues. With MPEG LA's announcement that H.264 will be royalty-free in perpetuity, it's likely only a matter of time before Firefox joins browsers like Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer 9 in fully supporting HTML5. This is good news for almost everyone except Adobe. Adobe's main argument against moving away from the current Flash-dominated web video landscape to one with a truly open standard like HTML5 is now invalid. While Flash may continue to hold onto its grip on interactive web content, MPEG LA's announcement likely points to an end to Flash's dominance in video. This is also the last nail in the coffin for any possibility of Flash running in iOS -- with possibly the biggest obstacle to widespread implementation of HTML5 video now gone, there's zero incentive for Apple to hitch its wagon to Flash. [Via Macworld]
The iPad makes a pretty good skateboard, too
We've seen an iPad blended and microwaved, so why not turn it into a skateboard, right? That's exactly what Fuel.tv did, and you can watch the results above. Does it stand up to the skater scrutiny? Yes and no ... okay, mostly no. The screen surprisingly breaks right away, and the form factor seems a little too small to support the skater's balance. However, after a little reinforcement (including a drilled hole through the middle that results in ... smoke? Is that the "magical" part?), they can actually get it to roll a little ways. That's not too shabby! Before you start complaining that they've, yet again, wasted an iPad, don't forget that 500 bucks has nabbed them over 100k views of their video online. So, for them, it's not a complete throwaway. [via Mashable]
Try out Clipstart, win an iPhone
Clipstart, a handy little Mac app for cataloging your small video clips and sending them to Flickr and Vimeo, has been out for a little while now. If you own an iPhone, Flip video camera or any device which has left you with an accumulation of video clips, it's worth a look. It's something like iTunes or iPhoto, but for video clips. Clipstart can import your videos, tag and search them, and trim, convert and upload them to your preferred video service(s). Currently, Clipstart works with Flickr and Vimeo, but more services are planned, and the author, Manton Reece of Wii Transfer fame, is looking for feedback on which services are in highest demand. If Clipstart would be useful to you if only it worked with [insert video service], be sure to drop him a line. While you're trying out Clipstart, take a look under the help menu. You'll find an option to enter the "iPhone Contest," which is exactly what it sounds like: enter to win an iPhone (in the form of a $199US Apple iPhone Gift Card, which can also be used for other things), as well as 1-year Flickr Pro and Vimeo Plus accounts. The contest ends on August 15th and all you need to do is enter an email address. So give Clipstart a shot (free demo available), and you might come out with a great new app and a new iPhone. Clipstart is $29US for a single user, but no purchase is necessary to win the contest.
The Guild hosts a Worst Guild Candidate Ever video contest
The Guild (which, as we were told by Michele Boyd last week, just started putting together their third season last weekend) is having a video contest, with a little twist. They want you to make a one minute video of a potential guildie for The Guild that would obviously get rejected -- in other words, a worst guild candidate ever video contest. So maybe you could clearly be a loot hog, or not know anything about your character (but claim to know everything). Or whatever else you come up with -- it sounds like they want the entries to be as embarrassingly bad as possible. To enter, you'll just have to create a video, upload it to a sharing site like YouTube or Vimeo (make sure you save a high-quality original of it just in case), and then drop them an email with a link to the video.Sounds like fun. If you win, you'll get featured on their website, and/or have a chance to get your video on their season 3 DVD release. They've also got legal rules over on their site (unfortunately, it's US-only, like so many other contests on the Internet), and have discussions about the contest going on their forums as well. Good luck to all who enter -- we can't wait to see the results!
WoW Moviewatch: Paul Revere
Any machinima that uses The Beastie Boys wins a few extra points in my book right off the bat, but it certainly helps that this video in particular is well choreographed. The video fit the music very well, and I think my only real complaint is that it started to drag on a little. To be truthful, I can't tell if that's the fault of the machinima or the fault of my fascinating inability to sit still for more than a few minutes if there are no explosions in my direct vicinity.I do like the fact that there was a story being played out using the lyrics of the song, rather than just a bunch of unrelated scenes cobbled together as we see so often. It's nice when someone sticks to a theme rather than flashing back and forth between random characters and scenes, only focusing on words that stick out in a song rather than the entire song. The jarring scene switches have their place, but this isn't it. It's good to see the author recognize that.The creator, CSid, mentioned that this was a test project and they'll be working on their own WoW web series. I haven't seen enough from CSid to make a prediction on its quality, but I can say that I plan on giving it a shot. The animation quality is there, and the ability to tell a story through WoW models is there. We'll see about the writing, I suppose. If you can't see Youtube at home for some reason, here's an alternate Vimeo link.Previously on Moviewatch ..
HD quality comparison of online video sharing sites
Sure, you could just surf around the intarwebz and utilize the tried-and-true "eye test" to see which online video sharing site boasts the best HD quality, but there's always a good feeling associated with having some cold, hard facts to back things up. TechVideoBlog has done the hard work for you, spelling out the resolution, codec, audio quality, etc. associated with each. The assembler of the data personally prefers Facebook and YouTube, but we'll let you digest the data in the read link before asking you to share your own choice in comments below.
WoW Moviewatch: Homesick: The Making of a Supervillain
Gnomechewer remains one of my favorite machinimators by far, and his most recent work doesn't dull those feelings at all. Homesick: The Making of a Supervillain (which you can also see on Vimeo) continues Gnomechewer's history of blending game footage (not just WoW, you see a bit of Garry's Mod as well) with music that absolutely fits the tone. It helps that my musical tastes are pretty similar to his, admittedly. Not everyone will see his choices the same way I do, for sure.For some reason, I also find myself fascinated with the way Gnomechewer blends the pulp medieval setting of Warcraft with modern day technology and communications. Warcraft has always had some element of technology which I've adored, but that level of modern technology isn't something I would enjoy in WoW itself. In this format, though, it's very intriguing. Another good example of this is his machinima Back In Your Head, which displays the effects of media and social networking on Jaina Proudmoore and Kael'thas Sunstrider's hypothetical celebrity relationship.The end of this particular video is a bit grim and a bit abrupt, which Gnomechewer said was a result of running out of HD space, but I still found the ending neat. Abrupt, but neat. It felt like enough of a twist that it wasn't too bad, but I find myself wishing hePreviously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: The Little White Poney Inn
More Hallow's End spirit to end your week, in the form of a little horror flick called The Little White Poney Inn from Olibith. It's a silent horror film that was originally made in French for Le Grand Prix MMO Machinima in 2007, which won the grand prize. (Anyone surprised? This guy eats awards for breakfast.) This version contains English subtitles over the French dialog cards (subtitles for the subtitles?) and a dialed-down "old film effect" compared to the version he entered into the contest. For this year's version of the same contest, Olibith won a finalist spot for The Noob Song.) If you like to be spooked, you'll have fun with this film and I have to admit that the ending made me laugh. Oh, and someone please go give the guy a chair so he can get back to work! We want more movies, dangit![Via Vimeo]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Redshift: Pursuit Trailer
Fresh off of winning an Oswald award at BlizzCon 2008, the filmmakers at Slashdance have released a trailer for their next movie, Redshift: Pursuit. Pursuit will be a sequel to their first movie, Redshift. (The award-winning Interlude was a prequel to the same movie.)The premise appears to be revolve around the conflict that arises when the clairvoyant Aislynn (a former Night Elf turned Undead) foresees the death of another Night Elf in her visions and tries to prevent it, putting her at odds with her fellow Horde. That's all the trailer really hints at, but it's a gripping teaser for what's to come. On their website, Slashdance says that the full film version of Pursuit will be released on October 31. We'll keep a look out for it.[Via Vimeo]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Snacky's Journal 4 wins Grand Prize at BlizzCon
Although the BlizzCon movie contest was hardly publicized at all -- no press releases about the contest or the winners -- it yielded the cream of the WoW machinima crop so we will be featuring the winning movies here at WoW Moviewatch for the next few days. The winner in each category, as well as the Grand Prize winner, received the newly minted Oswald award to put on their shelves. (I hereby dub thee The Ozzie!) Today we feature the Grand Prize winner, Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by the typically brilliant Stone Falcon Productions. This film also won the Drama/Romance category (see below), even though I think it is better suited for the Comedy category. It's good, Snackish fun, with high quality film-making and acting, as all the Snackys are. I like the new fem gnome and I hope she continues in the series because she's a cute character and could make for a good foil for Snacky.Here's a list of the other winners, along with links to ones that have been already featured on WoW Insider. We'll feature and comment on some of the others this week. Action/Adventure Category Runner-up: The Future Soon by Spiffworld Runner-up: Mercy of the Sea by Sleeping Dog Productions Winner: Divided Soul by Falch Productions Comedy Category Runner-up: Fruit of Elune by Myndflame Runner-up: The Dead Murloc by KILH Machinima Winner: The Rumpus Machine by Oblivious Films Drama/Romance Category Runner-up: Dead Rain 2 by Bear on a Trampoline Runner-up: Redshift by Slashdance Winner: Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by Stone Falcon Productions If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Rumpus Machine
The Rumpus Machine is the latest offering from Oblivious Films, of The Grind fame. It's the story of what happens when an easily-frightened dwarf and his friends stumble upon a "metal pig" which seems to grant their every wish. It's not a follow-up to The Grind storyline, but rather a new, self-contained story. It's kinda like what O. Henry would have written if he'd only lightened up a bit. The moviemaking here is top notch and the storytelling is quite funny with everything from sexy dancing girls to throwback dungeons. Make sure you stick around throughout the entire credits roll for some final jokes at the end.Drew "Drewbie" Syring from Oblivious tells Moviewatch that Macheath made this film for the BlizzCon machinima contest and, for you Diablo III fans, "yes, that is really the real Deckard Cain who was kind enough to lend his voice talents to our production." How'd they manage it? Just watch it, you'll see.Updated: In case it wasn't clear to anyone who watched the film: The filmmakers want you to know that they got the actual voice actor for Deckard Cain to perform in their film.[Via Vimeo]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Vimeo now hosting one million videos, 10% in HD
While the competition is stiff (and all but dominated by YouTube) in the online video sharing space, Vimeo is still finding a reason to celebrate. Last week, the site announced that it had surpassed one million video uploads, and potentially more amazing was that a full 10% of those were of the HD variety. According to it, that figure makes it the "largest repository of high-definition video anywhere in the world," though we'd be interested in seeing just how far behind Viddyou is. Also of note, IAC chief Barry Diller stated in a recent interview that it didn't see anything particularly huge in Vimeo's future, though it did plan to "keep tending it and letting it grow." So, is one (or more) of your videos one (or more) of those 100,000 referenced here? Or are you rushing to Google "Vimeo" in an effort to find out what this service even is?[Via NewTeeVee]
Found Footage: Unboxing goes a wee bit wrong
Vimeo user UnBoxedLunch brings us this hilariously botched unboxing of an Apple Remote. Thankfully, no hospital visits were necessary as a result. As someone who professionally designs packaging, I'll know I've reached the apex of my career when someone destroys a container I've designed, and captures it on video. Nothing but a bit of levity for your Monday afternoon.
WoW Machinima: The basics
(Dell is holding a machinima contest, which we'll discuss shortly. They asked me to write a tutorial to help new machinimators get their start.)Every day, I feature a video by some brave soul that dived in head first into the world of machinima. For those that aren't familiar with the term, it stands for machine and cinema. The literal definition is movies made in a 3D gaming platform. Using this basic guide, as well as the other tutorials and resources available to you, you'll be creating your first project in no time!Here is what you'll need if you want to make a machinima for free: WeGame camera - A free capturing program GIMP - A free image editing program Audacity - A free audio editing program Windows Movie Maker/iMovie - Free video editing programs that should have come with your appropriate system [Thanks for originally suggesting this, Bryan!] Read on for optional and advanced tools, plus additional resources ...
WoW Moviewatch: Muffins WotLK Exploration Part 70-77
(Viewers be warned that this video contains spoilers for the Wrath of the Lich King beta.)Muffins did a great job with her most recent exploration video. If you're looking for another artistic take on the new locations available in WotLK, this is the movie for you. The areas that she visits include Howling Fjord, Borelean Tundra, The Nexus (Instance), Utgarde Keep (Instance), Crystalsong Forest, Dragonblight, Stone Halls (Instance), Drak'tharon Keep (Instance), Zul'Drak, Dalaran, Sholazar Basin, and Grizzly Hills.The other day, I mentioned that Razzik may have had his exploration video removed from Vimeo. While I have yet to confirm it with him, there is a comment on Muffins' WCM page saying that they removed hers. I'll be weighing in on this shortly with some additional news from other sites, as well as recommendations for where to keep your machinima safe.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: The Cold Dream, a WotLK exploration video
(Warning: If you don't want WotLK spoilers, do not look in this post. The same goes for those that hate the style of Baron Soosdon.)Inspired by his heroes, Razzik created this Wrath of the Lich King exploration video. Similar to Snoman's recent effort, WotLK White Dreamscape, as well as Wrath of the Lich King - WTF!?, it follows a dream world where a woman is floating along. He used an electronic soundtrack, color filters, and sped up some of his video for effect, all of which make for some gorgeous scenery!In light of the recent news about Vimeo banning gameplay videos, many are questioning what they consider to be machinima these days. Razzik had his video uploaded there, but either they removed it, or he did, because of this policy. I guess exploration videos are out, so does that mean music video machinimas aren't safe?[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Fate, or The Story of Morgan Ladimore Teaser
Either Durast has abandoned this project or it's going to end up quite epic, as the teaser for Fate - The Story of Morgan Ladimore was released three months ago. However, the video by itself is pretty interesting. We hope that it ends up getting finished!The movie will be based around the quest line of Morgan Ladimore, a soldier that, when believed to have lost his family, was driven to madness and a killing spree. After committing suicide, his spirit was never laid to rest and he roams Raven Hill, killing those who cross his path.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: There Will Be Cannibalism
It's only been about a week since we posted Gnomechewer's last machinima, Back In Your Head, but he's already back with a new one! There Will Be Cannibalism could be the closest thing to PvP that I'll ever enjoy posting here. It is a parody of There Will Be Blood, with Daniel Day Lewis, set to the disturbing sounds of a Britney Spears tune, Toxic. Given Gnomechewer's track record with the crowd, and his ability to produce quality entertainment consistently, we're thrilled that he abandoned Age of Conan and came back to WoW.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
New tier gear video
Fresh from the alpha leaks that have been coming our way is a new video posted on Vimeo that shows new Wrath of the Lich King gear for Hunters, Mages, Priests, Rogues, and Warlocks. We don't know what tier level (ie: 7.5, 8, 9) this gear is for, but we do know that it fits the overall model of previous tier gear. When you watch the video you'll notice that not everything is done yet. Obviously, this is because the game is still in alpha. And remember that these models could be completely thrown out and replaced with something different. My personal favorite is the rogue gear.Give it a watch and get yourself some of these juicy alpha leaks!