Video Volunteers needed for Graduate Research Cafes

A new series called Graduate Research Cafés is being planned for Spring 2013.  Each informal gathering will feature two graduate students speaking about their research. As part of this experience, they will be videotaped delivering a very brief “on location” summary of their research for the web. They are in need of advanced video production volunteers to help implement this aspect of the program. These students will be mentored as they light, shoot, manage sound, and edit the video profiles. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Barbara Garland (bbg@imagevisions.net) with the following information: you name, major, year of study, program advisor, email, and telephone number. Also briefly describe your experience with news interview-style video production.

Graduate Research Cafés will be scheduled three times per semester: February 11, 2013, March 18, 2013, and April 15, 2013.

Sponsors of the project include: University of Delaware Office of Graduate and Professional Education, the Center for Science, Ethics and Public Policy, Delaware EPSCoR, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, and NSF. 

Turn Your iPad Into a Hand-Held Dark Room

Apple's iPad isn't just a fun tablet where you can play Angry Birds or check the news. The iPad can also be your very own dark room. Using a simple USB connector to the iPad, you can transfer over your photos from any digital camera into the iPad in a flash. The iPad is much more portable than any laptop so it makes editing photos on the go that much easier.

The cables to connect the camera to the iPad range from about $10 to $30. There are also many apps that have been developed ranging from about $5 to $20. With the simpler apps, you can change the contrast, brightness or saturation. Apple's iPhoto application also lets you apply filters like sepia for a "vintage" look. The more advanced apps offers controls such as layering, curves, and the ability to add text.

Obviously, the newer iPads with retina display will be the best choice when it comes to editing because it gives such a clear picture. However it does come with a hefty price tag. With the combination of high quality photography from the cameras at the SMDC, and the knowledge and practice of the photo editing apps on the iPad, amazing creations are sure to come.

For more information see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/technology/personaltech/apps-and-accessories-help-make-the-ipad-a-scaled-down-darkroom.html?ref=personaltech

Music Rights of the Future

Everyone knows the controversy of copyright infringement involving music, especially in the age of downloading and sharing via the internet. With the closing down of peer-to-peer sharing sites like Limewire, illegal downloading has become of way of the past. Now people are going towards legal alternatives like Pandora radio. But, ever since Spotify, people have been able to listen to whatever they like whenever they like, for free! Of course the occasional advertisement keeps it legal, but Spotify is revolutionary as it is basically an unlocked iTunes. How are they competing and how are the artists feeling about this? The main fear is that this will take money out of the pockets of independent musicians, but mainstream artists also are complaining. Taylor Swift and Coldplay have both forbid Spotify access to their new albums and think the website is destroying the value of music. But, as Spotify becomes more used and more socially driven (an update is coming that is transforming Spotify into a Twitter-like fashion of followings and followers), artists are also waving the white flag and allowing access. Metallica, who were famous for their Napster hatred, have given rights to spotify along with ACDC and other bands who have typically kept away from internet access. What is the correct way to deal with music copyright law? Especially in the age of internet-everything? Is it fair to give access online in a perfectly legal way or is it taking away from the sanctity of music, making it readily available for anyone with an internet connection? As we see the transformation of music and other multimedia rights continue through the 21st century, these legal and moral questions arise. Before, we knew Limewire and Piratebay were bad, and we stayed away (hopefully). But now we are at a crossroads with music. And for the first time, we actually don't know for sure what the right things to do is.

News Flash

The microforms scanners and the mapping station are connected to VendPrint.  Directions for releasing the jobs can be found at all four stations.

iPad's Made Simple

I've been amazed at all of the new things they have created for ipads.On the other hand I was concerned that it would just be another piece of apple technology that needed a day worth of manual reading to figure out or it would still contain some of the same issues as phones and computers. Thankfully I found out about some helpful tips on how to control the little things that tend to annoy people.

First is turning off the wifi pop up screen that alerts you whenever new networks are available. Now you can get rid of this feature but still be able to access all of the ones that are available by simply turning it off in your wifi settings.

On the new ipad instead of having to go into your settings to turn the volume off all you have to do is hold down the volume button and it will go all the way down to mute it completely.

You can also stream media right onto your TV with your ipad whenever the "Airplay" icon is available. There's no need for cables and whatever you play on your ipad will play on your TV screen for better viewing.

Those were just a few of my favorites but I learned a lot of new cool things from this website -

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/mobile-computing/tablets/50-really-useful-ipad-tips-and-tricks-688556

New Lytro Camera in Circualtion

If you haven't had a chance to check out this new gadget before leaving for break make sure you do when you get back. The Lytro is a camera that captures the entire light field of an image and allows the user to refocus on different parts of the image after it has been captured.The opportunities are endless.

Three reasons a Windows 8 laptop leads, MacBook lags

We're all aware of the touchy subject of Mac vs. PC. You have many people that feel strongly one way or the other on both sides. Apple has seemed to be the leading innovator for a long time now, however times may be changing. I personally love my MacBook Pro, but the new HP EliteBook Revolve looks like it may be the future of laptops. A unique design, built-in 4G, and a touch screen are what sets this laptop apart from the others. A more complete description of the features of the HP Revolve is given here.