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Richard Prince Selling Other People’s Instagram Shots Without Permission for $100K
There is this guy named Richard Prince who is somewhat known in the world of art for taking other people’s photos and artwork and “remixing” them in some way or another and selling them for money. Sometimes large amounts of money. His latest escapade included selling large format prints of Instagram photos with the Instagram interface in which he had commented on the photo or piece of artwork. He printed the screen shots out, cleaned them up, and sold them for big money, up to $100,000. I don’t know quite how I’d feel if I knew somebody had taken my artwork from the internet and added or subtracted a part of it and then sold it for any amount of money. Is it right? It doesn’t feel right. It’s definitely not cool.
The Brand New Phone That Does Only One Thing: The Light Phone
A credit card sized phone called “The Light Phone” which bills itself as a phone that thoughtfully simple, hit the Kickstarter interwebs over the past week and has received over $200,000 in funding from supporters at the time of writing this article. The phone shows time on a small display and allows you to make calls, but no texting, no internet browsing, no big screen.
Essentially it works with your existing phone to allow you to disconnect without missing any important calls and having some kind of phone to make calls if need be. It’s the size of a credit card and can even tuck away into your wallet. It’s design is meant to be used as little as possible and keep you from being distracted.
The way the phone works is that it is a GSM cell phone that works independent of your current cell phone carrier. It does come loaded with minutes, a SIM card, and an app to work with your current smartphone (call forwarding, etc…), but you would have to refill the minutes as you use them up. Looks like an amazing option for a lightweight phone that you’d take on vacation or even a first phone for a child. See more about this interesting idea here.
Upstart Russian Browser Strips Down To Take On Google
I love Google Chrome, but I don’t love that Google Chrome seems to build upon itself and create iteration after iteration of browsers running simultaneously on my system which tends to bong everything down after awhile of using it. After a day of using Chrome it’s slower than when I start everything fresh first thing in the morning. Other than that, it’s as close as I’ve seen a browser come to being perfect. I even have it on my iPhone and Safari sits on my third page of apps.
There is this crazy Russian browser called Yandex which is totally free and works like a full-screen browsing experience. You can set your default search engine (Google, of course) and it seemed to port over all my Google apps and even my Gmail, G+, Google Drive info as well. It has Firebug which is an important web development app that I use all the time and everything seems to work and work fast!
It automatically pulled all my bookmarks in, it has options for syncing across multiple devices, over 600 extensions (far cry from Chrome, I know), and it moves everything even further out of the way providing a very clean, very fast experience. Overall I give it an 8.5 out of 10. Not enough to fully switch from Chrome, but I will use it as a secondary browser over Firefox at this point. It seems to be a fairly secure browser, and people are saying some decent things about it.
Apple Might Show Off True Multitasking For The iPad At WWDC Next Month
With iPad sales allegedly slowing down, Apple is working on some angles to pump things back up. Among the rumored happenings is a 12-inch iPad-which probably wouldn’t be available until late 2015 if it’s the real deal-and also a report that Apple may be working on some true multitasking, split screen software for the iPad and it may be ready for unveiling at WWDC in about a month.
From the report, it appears that apps will be able to take up a third, half, or two thirds of the device screen-all depending on what the app itself will support. This all sounds like a very interesting concept and could lead to lots of powerful features to be made available on mobile devices in the near future. What features would you love to see in the next iPad?
iOS 9 Rumors Point To ‘Home’ App For HomeKit
Apple with iOS 9 appears to be working on a “Home” app for their HomeKit initiative which is an ambitious push by Apple to encourage all the good people of the world to live in a more connected environment. Homekit compatible devices would theoretically work with your smartphone to do things like lock/unlock the doors, change the temperature, control lights, and even plugs and switches all from a central, personal hub, your Apple device.
There appears to be an amazing amount of power and customization with the ability to control every individual device in your home, or collect devices into logical groups (living room, bathroom, garage, etc…) and quickly change the mood, color, and feel of any room using your iPhone wirelessly, whether you’re near, or far. This technology is so cool and so forward-looking, hopefully Apple does it justice and we see it in the mainstream very soon.
Spotify Video And Podcasts And More
In an effort to become a further reaching entertainment service, Spotify has announced that they are including video and podcasts as well as playlists that become much smarter and will suggest music based on the activity that you’re doing or the day of the week/time of the day that it is.
Spotify has started rolling these features out across their user base and announced that they have partnered with a cast of larger media companies like ESPN, Vice, Fusion, Comedy Central, TED, and more as well as an intent to produce and create their own video content as well. Definitely something to keep our eyes on in the rapidly changing world of streaming music and media.
The New 4K Panasonic G7
Rumors have swirled about a new Panasonic and now it is official. The G7 is the newest Panasonic mirrorless camera and the exciting thing is the fact that this will be a budget-friendly 4k capable camera. This camera is the little brother of the much praised GH4 camera.
The Panasonic G7 will be available later on in 2015 and will cost about $900 for the camera body. Specs listed below.
16 MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Sensor
Venus Engine 9 Image Processor
2.36m-Dot OLED Viewfinder
3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Free-Angle Touchscreen
4K UHD Video Recording at 30/24 fps
Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity
Up to 8 fps Shooting with AF & ISO 25600
DFD AF System, 4K Photo Modes
Calling It Quits On Photoshop Touch
The time has come for Adobe to move on from the Photoshop Touch app-which seemed to limp out of the gate and never really catch on anyway-as they announced on Thursday that they would end development on the photo editing app that they had been trying to get popularized for the past three years. The app will continue to work, but there will be no new updates.
If you are a big fan of the mobile apps, Adobe however, is not out of the photo editing on mobile devices race. They have a super secret project codenamed “Project Rigel” which promises to be bigger and better than anything that Photoshop Touch could ever dream of being. In fact there is a video circulating around the web of Bryan O’Neil Hughes (Outreach Leader at Adobe) demoing a massive 50 megapixel file on an iPad Air 2 in a newer version of a mobile Photoshop. What will the future of Photoshop and mobile devices be, and when will it become feasible and really usable for professional photographers and artists alike? Time shall tell.
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