Entertainment Electronics Blog

Photographers call it the golden hour or the magic hour. It’s that time when the sun is near the horizon, or just below, and the character of the natural/available light changes. The light quality is best when the sun is 6-7 degrees above the horizon, and the effect ends when the sun is 6-7 degrees below the horizon. It’s not always a fixed time, because it depends on the season and the distance you are from the equator.

Photographers and cinematographers often seek out the golden hour; it can add a striking tone to your photographs.

Now, the iPhone comes to the rescue. I’ve recently been using 2 apps that calculate the golden hour based on your location. One of the apps is pretty simple. The other actually shows you where the sun will be as it races toward the horizon, with a live camera view so you will know when it will be in just the position you want.

First off, let’s take a look at Sun Scout. At US $9.99, it’s not inexpensive, but it also does the most. Sun Scout uses the compass and motion sensors in the phone to superimpose the predicted position of the sun over a live view. I find I’m using it all the time so I know exactly where the sun will be to prepare a landscape shoot. The positions I got from the app for the sun were accurate, but you want to make sure to be clear of large amounts of metal or the iPhone’s compass can get confused. I noticed that problem when I was standing too close to my car.

The other worthwhile app is Magic Hour. This free app is a bit simpler, but very useful. It tells you when magic hour is for your location, how long until it begins, and it can even send you a notification that it’s about to start. You won’t get sun positions, but you will learn the best time to take your pictures. Using the app is simple enough, and I found the calculations to be accurate.

Of course you may not be taking the pictures on your iPhone, but perhaps on your DSLR or pocket camera. No matter what you use, when you make an effort to take your pictures when the lighting is at its best, you’ll be amply rewarded with images you want to keep for their sheer beauty. It’s a great time to shoot landscapes, but it’s also nice for taking pictures of people too.

I’ve included some screen shots from both programs in the gallery below.

Finding the ‘Magic hour’ with your iPhone for the best photos originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frequent business and pleasure travelers become very familiar with SeatGuru.com, a travel website that’s been around for a few years. SeatGuru is the best possible place on the Internet to get information on airplane seating.

You can pull up seat maps for just about any airline and aircraft type and get an idea of how desirable that seat is. SeatGuru, which is part of TripAdvisor’s stable of travel sites, released a free iPhone app today that will help you choose the best seat on any flight.

How does the app work? If you know your airline, flight number, and the date you’ll be flying, you can enter that information into the app and it will give you a tappable list of the flight segments. Tap on the one of interest to you, and it displays a seat map of the most likely aircraft type you’ll be flying on.

This is the first edition of this app, and it does need a little work. For example, I looked up a flight I’m intimately familiar with and found that not only did they have the old, pre-merger United Airlines logo — a minor point to be sure — but also the aircraft layout was incorrect. The same issue occurs on the SeatGuru website from which the app pulls its data; the small size of this app and the requirement for it to be connected to the Internet is a good hint that this is a web app, not a true native app.

Still, travelers will find the iPhone-formatted SeatGuru to be a vast improvement over trying to use the regular website through Safari on their mobile devices. It’s also a fast way to check on flight status and search for availability and fares on future flights. The fact that the SeatGuru app is free is just icing on the cake.

SeatGuru for iPhone: Airplane seat maps at your fingertips originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The green beer taps may have run dry, but that’s no cause for despair: the TUAW Talkcast is here to soothe your headache and recommend you take it easier next year.

Tonight, of course, we want to talk about the new iPad — so if you’ve got one, come on over and flaunt it! We’ll also review Friday’s bombshell announcement from Ira Glass and This American Life that the show has retracted its January episode featuring excerpts from monologuist Mike Daisey’s Apple-centric show. Several of the more dramatic stories included in the show turn out to be of questionable veracity. And, of course, we’ll talk about the surprise financial call scheduled for tomorrow morning.

We’re also pleased to welcome a special guest this week, our friend and former TUAW contributor Christina Warren, now covering the entertainment world over at Mashable. Let me just say it right now: you all are not ready for this. Brace yourselves.

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be. To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy (you know those headphones that came with your iPhone?), you can connect via the free Zoiper, X-Lite or Blink SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET: New iPads, theatrical revelations, and special guest Christina Warren originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you haven’t noticed, Apple’s stock was soaring today. It closed at US$589.58, another all-time high, and is up +21.48 for the day. As financial analysts pour over these numbers, they are discovering some amazing trivia about this off-the-charts growth.

• Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty may have kicked off this climb when, as Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Apple 2.0 notes, she revised her previous 12-month price target from $515 to $720 (base case) and to a mind-boggling $960 on the bullish side.
• Apple’s stock has gone up 40 percent since last October 14 ($422) when the iPhone 4S launched. Up 68 percent this year alone.
• Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge points out Apple’s market value is almost equal to the market value of the entire US retail sector combined.
• Asymco also chimed in and noted that “Apple’s market value today increased by more than one Nokia, nearly three $RIMM’s or a bit less than one Sony.”
• MacDailyNews also points out that Apple’s market value ($548.95 B) is now double that of Microsoft ($274.42 B).
• To see how far Apple has come, Apple went public on December 12, 1980 at $22.00 per share. It’s lowest market value was $630.9 million (stock price of $1.375) on July 8 1982.

With the new iPad launch only two days away, I have a feeling this is only the beginning of a momentous climb for Apple.

Apple stock soars, market value close to entire retail sector originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to do something truly new or unique when it comes to GPS software. You’ve got maps, a destination database, throw in some traffic and weather. I’ve spent a couple of days with an app called GPS everyWhere + HUD Mode. That’s a mouthful, but there a quite a lot of features to talk about and some big missings.

First, turn the app on in the car and you’ll get your speed, a compass, your average speed, your latitude and longitude, altitude, a Google Map, temperature, weather, humidity, wind information, predicted maximum and minimum temperatures, and a choice of screen themes. Here’s the gee whiz feature. There is a HUD (heads up display) mode, that reverses the screen. You put your iPhone on top of your dash, the data on screen reflects off your windshield, and you have a display superimposed on your view of the road. It works in portrait or landscape mode.

The app has promise, but here are the inevitable caveats. First, this isn’t a true navigation app. There’s no way to set a destination and get turn-by-turn directions. Bummer. All you see is your position on a map. I’d rather get some directions than my latitude and longitude. Second, I have to question the wisdom of putting your cellphone on top of a dashboard, where your car is the hottest and the iPhone is likely to shut down with a heat alert. Finally, it’s tough to see the HUD during the day, but it is excellent at night. You’ll need to set the brightness of your iPhone to full, but even then driving around in a bright sunny day I couldn’t see a thing.

I really like the idea of this app, but it needs to be able to let you see a route to a destination. All the fresh thinking in the world won’t make an app truly useful until it solves some problems for a user. If you’re happy to just get weather, altitude, and see a map, this app is a great idea, especially with the HUD view at night. I’d like to see the developer move ahead with this app, because it’s creative and could be useful unless you live in a warm climate.

The app is a 19 MB download, requires iOS 4 or later, and runs on anything from an iPhone 3GS or later. The app is on sale for an unspecified time for $0.99 in the App Store. There’s a demo video here, and note we’re only seeing the HUD mode at night.

Daily iPhone App: GPS everyWhere has great promise but isn’t quite finished originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

I own an iPad 2. It suits my needs just fine. I don’t use the camera and the apps I use are not that processor intensive.

I’m looking at the 3rd Gen iPad and can’t seem to make myself pull the trigger on upgrading. What do you think?

Your loving niece,

Meg

Dear Meg,

Auntie is torn as well. She’s recommending the new iPad for anyone who doesn’t yet own one, and yet for now she’s sticking to her beloved iPad 2. As the owner of an iPad 2, the newer release feels more like an indulgence than a necessity to her.

With a better chip, improved camera, and that luscious Retina display, the new iPad has a lot going for it. And yet, Auntie really wants that 4G technology on an iPhone (especially a Verizon model with free metered hotspotting), not on a new iPad. Right technology, wrong device.

She’s probably going to pick up a Wi-Fi model in a few months when refurbs start filling channels or when a contracting job demands testing on a new unit.

For now, the problem lies in the fact that the iPad 2 is a really, really good iPad. It does everything that Auntie needs an iPad to do and it does it well. Sure, Auntie would prefer the new screen, camera, memory, and so forth, but at $500 and up, none of those technologies are compelling enough to make her jump onboard yet.

Auntie loves the new iPad — but the iPad 2 continues to be a winner as well. Apple clearly agrees, as the priced-to-move $399 iPad 2 that still maintains a spot on its store.

Hugs,

Auntie T.

Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I upgrade to the 3rd Gen iPad? originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ten One Design has brought a number of well-received accessories to the iOS world, including the recently announced Magnus iPad stand. Now the company has taken the wraps off of a new pressure sensitive stylus that it is publicly stating as “our first product for the iPad 3.”

Dubbed “Project Blue Tiger“, the stylus uses Bluetooth 4.0 to automatically link with an iPad or iPhone with no pairing required. The width of the line drawn by the stylus is controlled by pressure, and there’s a tiny multi-colored LED that displays the current color of “ink” being dispensed by the virtual pen.

Before you rush out and order one of the as-yet-unnamed styluses, please understand that Ten One Design hasn’t yet made the decision to produce the device. As Ten One states on their website, the product will ship after being approved by the FCC, and if there is enough developer support. The company has developed a free API to allow developers to integrate the stylus with their drawing or painting apps.

Full details of the stylus, including the name and price, should be available soon. Be sure to check out the demo video below.

via MacStories

Ten One Design outs iPad 3 pressure sensitive Bluetooth stylus originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether it’s impending iPad refreshes, don’t-be-evil cookie workarounds, or misrepresenting the Law of Large Numbers, there’s one place you can go to talk about all of it: the weekly shmoozefest we all know as the TUAW Talkcast. Sore throat or no, I’ll be there tonight for the full hour; hope you will, too. Tonight’s special guest: iMore editor Rene Ritchie.

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be. To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy (you know those headphones that came with your iPhone?), you can connect via the free Zoiper, X-Lite or Blink SIP clients; and basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast reminder: Dreaming of a new iPad, 10pm ET tonight originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The developers of the Flashlight XS app ($0.99) claim their app offers a performance breakthrough, turning an iPhone’s light on instantly. This is predicated on “taking advantage of iOS 5 improvements and tuning to the latest hardware.”

I offered to give it a try based on the passionate excitement of the developer’s pitch letter. If a dev can get that excited about a flashlight app, then I wanted in.

First, I downloaded a handful of free flashlight apps and launched them. They all did what they promised, enabling the onboard LED for instant flash light access (there is some sample code in my latest cookbook if you want to roll your own.)

Then I tested out Flashlight XS. Like the other apps, it switched on the LED.

Did it do so noticeably faster or better? Er, no. Did it provide a “10x improvement in launch time”? No, again.

The latency was pretty much exactly the same as every other flashlight app I tried.

As to the app’s merits, I think it has a pretty icon.

If you’re looking for a Flashlight app, you may want to consider any of the free alternatives available on the App Store.

TUAW gives Flashlight XS a sad thumbs down down for promises beyond what it can deliver — the light does turn on, but no faster than the myriad of similar free apps we’ve used. It’s our considered opinion that the developers might not want to charge to do the exact same thing free apps do.

Flashlight XS claims instant-on technology originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like ThinkGeek and Ion Audio were holding out on us when we visited the companies’ booth at CES earlier this year. (See update below) In addition to the three new devices already announced for the iCade lineup by Ion (that allows you to use various controls for iOS games across Bluetooth), there’s now another one from ThinkGeek only, strangely called the 8-bitty. The 8-bitty is an NES-style (though four buttons, instead of only two) block controller that’s completely wireless: Just pair it up with your iOS device and have at it.

It’s hardly ergonomical, but that’s not really the point with this, obviously. There are also two buttons at the top to use as triggers, so this is really an old school controller designed for new-school use. And just like all of Ion and ThinkGeek’s other iCade stuff, this will be compatible with any games designed to use it — all it does is acts as a Bluetooth keyboard, so any games designed to use certain keys to do certain things will be able to use this.

Seems like a good idea, and given iCade’s success in the past, this one will probably sell just as well. It’s supposed to be available “later on this year,” and ThinkGeek has listed the 8-bitty at $24.99, so we’ll keep a look out and let you know when you can grab one.

Update: ThinkGeek’s reps email to say that while the other iCade devices are being manufactured in conjunction with Ion Audio, the 8-bitty is not. It’s still using the iCade name, but this product is all ThinkGeek. Good to know.

via Engadget

ThinkGeek announces 8-bitty wireless controller for iPad, iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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