IMovie IOS 1.2-PCWorld

When Apple released iMovie for the iPhone 4 last year, I felt a palpable sense of longing. I was excited to have a mobile version of iMovie, but a video-editing app seemed ideally suited to work on the iPad's large screen. I could easily imagine how it would work, and yet it ran only on the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch.

Since then, it's been a given that the software would jump to the iPad, and with iMovie for iOS 1.2, we get to experience what was no doubt on the drawing boards, if not yet in the shipping schedule, of Apple's engineers. iMovie takes what can be a complex task-just look to Adobe Premiere or Apple's Final Cut applications to see how deep video editing can be-and makes it not only accessible, but touchable.

That tactile interactivity makes video editing more engaging. You get a better sense of assembling the movie using your fingers instead of being once removed by the mouse on a computer. My three-year-old daughter and I put together a quick movie, where she chose clips from the Videos pane by tapping on them. She became a co-editor, versus directing over my shoulder on the Mac (which usually results in her losing interest and walking away).

This update runs on the iPad 2 (but not, alas, the original iPad), the iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch, exposing potentially millions of iOS device owners to a top-notch video editor. iMovie for iOS 1.2 could be the friendliest version of Apple's video software yet, a welcome introduction to the process of turning raw video clips into movies that say more than just, "I pointed my camera at that place."

Editing video

Without a doubt, having the larger iPad screen available for editing is an improvement over the small screen on the iPhone and iPod touch. When the iPad is in its landscape orientation, the Video pane appears in the upper-left corner. Tap a source clip to select it, and use the yellow selection handles (yellow circles) to choose which portion of the clip to use. As you drag a handle, the Viewer area to the right displays the current frame, giving you an idea of where the edit point will be.

It's also possible to preview a clip by dragging across it, but the speed depends on how you move your finger, and there's no audio. In portrait orientation, the Video pane appears as a popover, with previews appearing in a thumbnail box above your finger. I found myself wanting to preview a clip in real time without first adding it to a project-a Video pane-specific play button that affects the current selection, for example.

Clips that appear in your project are marked with an orange bar, so you can see which sections you've already used. Editing clips in the timeline is simple, and as intuitive as you can expect a video editor to be: When you tap a clip, those bright yellow selection handle orbs appear, begging to be dragged.

What's not as intuitive is adding a title, where you need to double-tap a clip and choose a title style from the popover that appears. This is consistent from the previous version of iMovie for iOS, and once you're familiar with the mechanism, it's not a big deal. (This would be a good opportunity to point to iMovie's new well-organized help system, accessible by tapping a question mark [?] icon on the main screen.)

When you need to make more specific edits, pinch outward vertically on a transition icon to open the Precision Editor. This takes advantage of the screen real estate to show both video clips around the transition and view the unused footage of each, helping you choose more deliberate edit points.

As soon as I started putting together a longer project, I noticed that swiping across the length of the timeline was time-consuming and less than ideal. However, Apple has a couple of solutions: Pinch with two fingers horizontally on the timeline to expand or contract its width, or-the behavior that's now become second-nature to me-tap and hold the left or right end of the timeline just above the video clips to jump to the beginning or end.

Editing audio

The audio tools at your disposal have broadened in this version, which is a relief. It's now possible to view audio waveforms for video and audio clips, making it easier to determine edit points.

iMovie for iOS now offers multiple audio tracks: One for the video track, one background music track, and three foreground audio tracks; a limited library of sound effects are also available. It's now possible to include multiple background songs, versus having to choose just one, by turning off the Loop Background Music option in the Project Settings.

However, as welcome as these features are, I'm still left longing for more control. When you trim an audio clip, there's no way to fade out the edit point, leaving an abrupt ending if you trimmed mid-sound. You can adjust only the overall volume of a clip. The background music track is also automatically ducked (made softer) when there's audio in a video clip, but no control is available to enable, disable, or adjust the level of ducking.

Also, iMovie makes an assumption that any audio track under one minute in length should be foreground audio, not a background music track. That can be a problem if you want to open a video with a short piece of music from your iTunes music library, and then follow with a longer piece. iMovie places the short piece as a sound effect (a blue track beneath the video); when you add the next song, it appears as a background track, which locks to the beginning of the movie. Unlike the behavior in the desktop version of iMovie, you can't pin a background track arbitrarily.

iPhone 4 and iPod touch

When Apple announced iMovie 1.2, I was especially curious to see how it translated to the iPhone and iPod touch. To my relief, Apple didn't cram the new interface onto the small screen, even if it's a high-resolution Retina display. It retains the minimal interface used in the first version of iMovie. The small-screen version doesn't offer the Precision Editor or audio waveforms, but otherwise, you get a similar editing experience as on the iPad. The Video pane appears as a separate screen instead of tucked in the corner, but you can tap to select a clip and adjust its selection handles before adding it to the timeline. Dragging your finger along a clip brings up a preview thumbnail. And background audio clips appear as a green bar at the bottom of the timeline, instead of as a green field behind the other clips.

Sharing your movie

In the previous version of iMovie, you needed to send a finished movie back to the device's Camera Roll before exporting it. Now, you can export the movie directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport, as well as to the iPad's Camera Roll. (It's odd that MobileMe isn't on that list; Apple pointed out to me that uploading to MobileMe is available via the Camera Roll, which means you need to go to the Photos or Camera apps to access it.) HD-quality options are offered for each of them, which is good if you have the bandwidth to send 720p files.

Of course, you don't need to send your movie across the Internet to view it outside the iPad. iMovie supports playing a movie on devices like the Apple TV that support AirPlay. When you start playing full-screen and tap the AirPlay icon, iMovie creates an AirPlay-compatible version that appears to be 720p resolution. (In fact, I noticed the typical full-screen playback on the iPad itself was sometimes slightly lower resolution, presumably to play the movie in real time without rendering.)

Another option enabled by the iPad 2 is direct playback to an HDTV or projector via HDMI, using Apple's Digital AV Adapter. When connected, the TV mirrors what's on the iPad. However, I was surprised to discover that tapping the Play Full Screen button on the Projects page does not use the entire television the way playing a movie from the Videos app does. Instead, you get what's mirrored on the screen: widescreen playback limited to the resolution of the iPad's screen with bars at top and bottom. To get the full screen effect, you need to first share the movie to the Camera Roll, and play it there.

One other item in the sharing list is Send Project to iTunes. The idea is to be able to export an editable version of your project, for sharing with other iOS devices running iMovie or for creating a backup (other than the backup that's automatically made when you sync your iPad). It's the same mechanism used for transferring documents between the iPad and the computer, only in this case, alas, you can't open the project in iMovie '11 on the Mac.

I hoped that I could use the feature to transfer a project directly from my iPhone to the iPad using a sync cable and Apple's Camera Connection Kit USB adapter-that's one way to transfer source movies and photos between devices. But Send Project to iTunes really means iTunes on the desktop: The feature makes a copy of your project (including the entirety of the source video files used, even if you've included just a few seconds of each in the movie itself) and stores it on the device; the next time you sync, it becomes available in the Apps pane of iTunes when the iPad is selected in the sidebar. From there you must save the file to somewhere on your computer, connect your destination iOS device, and add the project file to the File Sharing section in the same Apps pane. Then, finally, open iTunes on the device, go to the Projects screen, and tap the Import button.

The process works, but it's cumbersome. If you do some editing and want to send the project back to the original device, you must perform all of those steps again, plus be willing to put up with duplicate source clips (because the incoming project now includes all that footage, too). Fortunately, I don't foresee many people going to all that trouble.

Little annoyances

Having more options in this version of iMovie is spoiling me, because I find myself wanting more-and reminding myself that iMovie was created as an app for mobile devices.

For example, Apple doesn't even try to support the variety of video formats that people are likely to be shooting in. Footage is assumed to come from the iPad's cameras, an iPhone 4, or a fourth-generation iPod touch (H.264 up to 720p, MPEG-4). AVCHD? Go to the desktop. Based on the video-capture devices at hand, I was able to import and edit footage from a Flip Mino HD, but not a Canon Powershot G12.

Now that iMovie supports multiple audio tracks, I would like to see the capability to extract audio from a video clip, so I could intercut scenes or perform a cutaway shot while the video clip's audio continues to play.

Going back to the projects screen, the movie you were just working on isn't selected. So if you want to play that movie full-screen, or share it to a video service, you must scroll to locate it again in the list.

Lastly, accessing songs and photos needs finer organization. If you sync photos from iPhoto, for example, events, albums, smart albums, and Faces are tossed into one long alphabetical list. And the Audio pane, particularly the Songs list, really needs the same sort of letter shortcut control that runs alongside the Contacts list in the FaceTime app for jumping through the library.

Macworld's buying advice

Apple's iMovie for iOS 1.2 is a friendly, easy-to-use app for the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch. It makes great use of the iPad 2's large screen, lets you add portions of clips to the timeline, gives you five audio tracks along with multiple background audio clips, while its Precision Editor aids in editing cut points. This new version reinforces the value of an app that was already fun to use and capable enough to turn casual video clips into movies you want to share far and wide.

Some of its shortcomings, such as the inability to gracefully fade audio clips and a clunky method of moving projects between iOS devices, prompt that same sense of longing I had with the first version of iMovie for iOS. Now that the app is available on the iPad (though sadly only for the new tablet) and brings the same added functionality to the iPhone and iPod touch, it makes me want more. However, priced at $5 (free if you purchased the original version), iMovie for iOS 1.2 is a great bargain.

Jeff Carlson is the author of Photoshop Elements 9 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide (Peachpit Press; 2010) and a senior editor of TidBits.

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Posted in iphone apps

Pentax updates its ultracompact camera skinnable-CNET

Pentax Optio RS1500 is nice looking out of the box, but its removable front plate, you can quickly change its appearance as often as you want by covering it regardless of color or design you choose, too.

The camera ships with 10 default themes, but you can also download an Adobe Air-based Pentax personal skin Designer to import an image and save a theme as a PDF document for printing. It was a pretty solid idea when Pentax launched its predecessor, RS1000, last year.

This update improves the skin-change process by eliminating the need to remove the screws to Swap faceplates; It is now a Screwless design with an interchangeable lens ring (choice of orange or black included).

Under the skin is a pretty basic 14-megapixel point-and-shoot. In front is a 4x27.5 mm-equivalent wide angle lens on the back is a 3-inch LCD. Shooting settings include automatic scene recognition, 720 p HD movie capture, creative digital photo filters, tracking Auto focus and a Digital Panorama mode.

Everything for a sub-$ 150 price in a credit-card-size body sounds like a sweet deal. Look for it in April.

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Posted in digital cameras

The application for it? Five ways to Bank could learn from the Apple iPad-Wall Street Journal

The line for the iPad 2 White Plains, New York, in the store, Apple handles around the third level of the shopping centre. Line blocked Anthropologie stores and restaurants, Michael. Security guards had to keep clear of the escalator exit.

Meanwhile, the nation's banks are still secretly increasing the attention of the fees charged to customers who use their ATMs: a whopping $ 5 in some cases.

Is the blatant contrast between the two business models.

Compare the experience of retail banking and consumer technology is not exactly apples to apples. Still, it's closer than you might think. As gadget Bank retail sector often do not have a clear advantage against opponents. Gear are short, so a large part of the difference of marketing and consumer perception.

The first tablet computer for mass consumption was introduced 11 years ago. This weekend, Apple Inc. sold its new iPads in Westchester County and New York City area in less than 24 hours.

That is the reason why Apple success offers a valuable lesson to the Bank.

Steve Jobs doesn't listen to interest groups. For him it's all about innovation. This means that filling the need for the customer even knows that it has. It also means that to repackage everyday products into an elegant and intuitive, even in the event that occurs at the expense of functionality.

In other words, Mr. Jobs is doing something cool from the brush – and is able to charge more because of the lumpy.

Which leads us to the big question: could the Bank boring enough for the rest of us the old banking cool?

Maybe it's not real prospects for the excited crowds outside your local branch. But a little innovation and marketing go far. Is Jet Blue flourished by defining them by plane. The people behind Starbucks transformed coffee business in the amount of $ 10 billion a year.

Banks have to Amaze us how companies do, but need to create Buzz. How would our iBank?

Streamline and simplify. One thing that Apple, Starbucks and the well is to build the kernel is Jet Blue product and expand from there.

For banks, it may mean, offers customers a single account. Today, customers of the banks are awash with separate services and recumbent figures.

Delete account numbers for the user-defined names. Allow customers to add services through this single identity. Banks should also offer a single source for assistance in the AppleCare model: one toll-free number and Web address.

Create a holistic approach to financing. One leader in this area is the site Mint.com Intuit. Users can view multiple accounts, regardless of the institution, together with the value of their houses, cars and other assets, while creating budgets and see trends.

The Bank could create Web sites that offer even more. Imagine landing page with these three numbers: net worth, debts and income. And maybe the fourth heading, which clearly says that you are today with your investment, spending, savings accounts, and so on.

Imagine clicking on the link and get your estimated tax obligation, of your estimated pension income and college savings. A simple look at the top and then very in detail for more demanding use.

Create the prestige and the community. Steve Chazin, marketing executive who blogs about Apple's strategy, says that the banks are missing: "in order to help customers to evangelize for the Bank, they send customers referral links in their online payment account. Customers can send their friends these links through Facebook and help them sign with banking services. Referrer gets paid for their work. "It is similar to what Apple is doing with his passionate users."

And instead of spending all their Time wooing investors, bank directors should create runs of products which imitate Apple events.

Notice how Mr. Jobs often begins his presentation with the sales and financial numbers. Imagine a CEO Vikram Pandit touted new deposits when notifying Citigroup Inc., the new mobile retail software, blinking release date, and then, that the implementation would be limited to the first.

Banks are still behind the curve. Many still don't have an iPhone or Android apps. Only a handful have iPad apps. Bank of America still has built exclusively for the tablets.

Banking To entertainment. Laugh if you want to, but Apple's iPad 2 rollout to employees free cups of Starbucks. Worked lines with customers. Even with hundreds of people in the series he felt like he was understaffed in the shop. Now go to your bank Hall and try the coffee.

Reduce unnecessary. When customers and, finally, their hands on their iPads, opened a plain white box and a few pieces of Note paper size. There was no guidance. No additions. Press one button and the iPad was and ready for use.

Consider now the amount of e-mail from your bank: legal statement, stock photos, hot-air balloons, even smiling people.

Think about all the clicks to open a brokerage account. Why do we have to enter any of our information two or three times?

Mr. Chazin it suggests: "just as Apple was super easy to get your music in your pocket with the iPod and iTunes, banks can take the pain away from the process of the application and approve customers (they know their customers Bill payment history and other information required for credit) allows the cutover to know in advancewhat you can afford. "

All this is just the beginning. Of course some banks employ elements of these proposals. But ask yourself: do you feel sympathy to your bank? Even a fraction of the loyalty you have for your favorite gadget, a cup of coffee or an auto maker?

Of course not, but it has nothing to do with you.

"The Bank's traditional approach to building a relationship, but their institutionalized cultures in the way," says Alan towers, Bank Advisor. "Employee turnover in branches is working against them. Their business models Lurch customers between the personal contact and ice technologies without creating a reputation, which brings the loyalty. "

Banks are the false impression that their activity is still going after meeting with customers. It is not. Most of us, you can communicate electronically. It's a gadget business.

In addition, banks continue to be as cross-selling business model, even if the few financial institutions see step needle growth from customer acquisition to open a brokerage account. However, Bank of America talked about last week's sales as the main engine of growth in revenue in the future.

If Apple depended on cross-selling, would have ended up. It's a minor concern, after wowing the customer with the product, whether included in the music player, a laptop or a tablet.

I was ever able to do anything your bank offers you? Of course not. It's about feeling, your bank has just quit. For $ 5 a pop, maybe it has.

Write David Weidner on david.weidner@dowjones.com

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Posted in apple inc

Adobe Releases Photoshop Express 2 for iPhone-popular Photography Magazine

IPhone app for photo editing program Adobe for the new version adds more features, most of which are available for only $ 3.99-after the upgrade. Photography apps for iOS, inter alia, competition is fierce. Is the little pieces of software, ways and Our complete with pictures of all kinds of mess. But Adobe is still a big fish, and when they make updates to their Photoshop-branded app, it's a good idea, taking into account the outcome of the notification.The App itself is free, and you can still do things, such as filters, rotate, crop, adjust the exposure and contrast, add pictures. But there are several new features that require the $ 3.99 camera pack plug-in download. We bought one to see how it pans.One of the most significant updates to reduce noise, which is complementary to the filters collection. You can add a degree of effect between 1-100, to reduce the image resolution as you go higher. As you can see, it takes a couple of seconds, that when you are finished, the tweaking. The impact of the works quite well, despite the loss of resolution. However, once started, the previous 35, it starts to look at getting a rather artificial, but that is expected. See the examples in the Gallery linked to the other added features include. camera-timer, the timer of the camera is a lot of the normal and convenient authentication mode, which displays your photos quickly, allows the Chimp adjustable rate. Reduction of noise in the case of Nice property for ordinary people who want to share photos directly from the camera (and you do not already Use a different filter in the system, such as the Hipstamatic or Instagram), four dollar goes a long way to go app store. Eventually, this application is a bit pricy for the offering. It is also available in the for the iPad, but with the iPad, what they are likely to be filters, cameras are not all that much good.

Official App page

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Posted in iphone apps

Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS revision-infoSync world

Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS Report

Touchscreen technology is old news in the digital camera industry, thanks to Sony, but Canon didn't release their first touchscreen digital camera until last year. The SD3500 IS put Canon on the map, particularly geared for point-and-shooters who wanted a great Auto camera that was easy to use. The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is the SD3500's sequel, and it's packed with many of the same upgrades found on its siblings, the PowerShot Elph 300 HS and SX230 HS. Canon's prey within the point-and-shoot forest has been low light, and the PowerShot Elph 500 spends most of its mod money on making sure shots remain exposed and focused when the lights go down. The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS also receives a few other choice upgrades like 1080p and new Image Effects, so let's break them all down in our full review.

Design

Oddly, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is actually styled after the SD4500 IS, yet contains the same external control layout as the PowerShot SD3500 IS. The only difference is that Canon migrated the Playback button to the side panel on the back of the camera, where it sits peculiarly out of place from the rest of the controls found on top, including a Shutter button zoom toggle and Auto/Camera switch. The Elph 500 HS has an HDMI terminal and A/V out jack, and the camera accepts SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.

But the most profound difference was the Elph 500 HS's diminutive size when compared to the SD3500 IS. While Canon whittled down the dimensions on the Elph 500 HS to make it more pocket friendly, they sacrificed a small percentage of LCD real estate, throttling from a nice 3.5-inch screen to a 3.2-inch display. The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS retains the same 461,000-pixel resolution, which provides a crisp picture, and its touchscreen sensitivity was unchanged from last year. Here, we wanted to see improved sensitivity, but we still ran into a few glitches in the capacitive technology.

We also got a 24mm wide-angle lens with a 4.4x optical zoom?slashed from the previous 5x optical zoom found on the SD3500 IS. Overall, not much has changed for the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS aside from a size cut and style alteration.

Shooting Features

We commented on the fact that the SD3500 IS lacked sufficient manual controls, categorizing it as more of a true Auto machine than anything. But the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is granted with TV (Shutter Priority) and AV (Aperture Priority) modes, which cater to the more advanced point-and-shooters out there. We also loved the Elph 500 HS's aperture range of f/2.0 ? f/8.0, the widest aperture out of the company's new releases this winter. The camera's shutter speed reached down to 15 seconds, making our long exposure shooting worthwhile. However, we experienced the same ISO cap on the Elph 500 HS as we did on the SX230 HS. Anything past 1-second will default to ISO 100, meaning you can't for instance set the camera to a 4-second shutter speed and adjust the ISO to 400 for a little more sensitivity. Because of this, we felt a bit limited, but most owners of the Elph 500 HS will most likely not be long exposure shooters.

Speaking of ISO, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS gets a boost in max ISO adjustment, making the ceiling ISO 3200, compared to the PowerShot SD3500 IS's 1600 cap. This is because of the camera's HS sensor, which we'll get to in a bit. But in other news, we found the Auto mode on the Elph 500 HS to be one of the best in the industry, choosing from 32 predefined scenes, compared to last year's 22 scenes. Auto Focus is fantastic, and we could activate Focus Tracking by simply tapping anywhere on the screen. If you're the type of shooter that never lets the Mode switch wander from Auto, then this camera is an ideal choice. We did get the new Toy Camera and Monochrome filters, as well as the Movie Digest mode. Found on all new PowerShots this year, Canon's Movie Digest mode allowed us to capture 4 seconds of video every time we snapped a still image, leading to a video montage that could be played back with heartwarming music and dashing transitions.

These were all welcome additions to Canon's second touchscreen point-and-shooter, though our overall touchscreen experience remained the same. Menus were well organized and easy to follow with descriptions of each option. Playback allowed us to swipe images from side-to-side and single-tap to zoom. We'd love to see Canon obtain the rights for a pinch-to-zoom technology, but that might be a while. In the end, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS does not have what it takes when we stack it up against mid to high-end smartphones, so if you're looking for that type of sensitivity, you won't find it on the Elph 500 HS. The camera does have one of the best touchscreens in the business though, and is right up there with Sony's best.

Still Image Quality

The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS receives the same 12.1-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor as found in the new Elph 300 HS and SX230 HS. What does that mean? All three cameras exhibit nearly identical image quality, so camera choice is only limited to form factor. The only difference we have with the PowerShot Elph 500 HS is that it has the widest aperture out of the trio with an f/2.0. Because of that, the PowerShot Elph 500 HS gave us the edge in low light. Out of the three we tested, the Elph 500 HS won in the low light department because it mimicked the internals of the Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS, which was one of our top low light compacts.

However, when it came to bright light, we approached our testing a bit differently. Every bright light image, aside from the Filters, was shot in Auto mode. Since the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is geared toward the hardcore point-and-shooter, we thought we'd shoot like one. Well, the results were not as exciting as we would have hoped for. The camera tends to boost the ISO every chance it gets. Many of the landscape images you'll see below lack a significant about of detail while Macros are crisp and defined. If anything, our Auto Mode jaunt is proof that shooting in Program AE with a low ISO is the way to go with any Canon point-and-shoot. Let the high ISO speeds handle low light.

Outdoors and Filters

Low Light Shooting

Video Quality

The Canon PowerShot Elph gets 1080p HD video recording at 24fps, which means motion is going to be slightly sluggish compared to a 30fps camera. Luckily, 720p can be shot at 30fps, and the camera has Super Slow Motion for recording at 120fps (640x480 and 240fps (320 x 240). There's also Miniature mode with 6, 3, and 1.5fps options in both 720p and VGA, as well as iFrame recording.

We found that the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS matched the Elph 300 HS and SX230 HS when it came to video quality. It's the best we're going to get out of a sensor this size, but unfortunately, the low light sensitivity is not up to snuff. One problem we've had with all of the new Canons is that videos look much brighter on the LCD than they do a monitor. Overall, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS gave us an above average video performance, but quality did not change from last year's SD3500 IS.

Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS : infoSync Diagnosis

The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS may not possess the multitude of bells and whistles found on the PowerShot SX230 HS, but it does have one significant advantage: the camera's f/2.0 aperture. Because of this, the Elph 500 HS was the best low light performer out of the latest PowerShot trio we've reviewed. We like how Canon granted the PowerShot Elph 500 HS with advanced controls, new Image Effects, and a low light friendly CMOS sensor. We also get 1080p and a few other goodies for a whopping $20 price hike. If you have the chance, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is the better buy over last year's SD3500 IS, but it's not enough of a revolution to replace your SD3500 IS with. We could still use some more refinement and additional technology in the touchscreen realm, so hopefully Canon's next capacitive warrior will do the trick.

Price and Availability

The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS will be available this spring for $300.

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Posted in digital cameras

Lawmakers push for higher tax credits for research-Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON-the US unemployment rate Is hovering around 9 percent, job creation is one of the rare problems that can cross the party line. Dvoustranická group policymakers, including Texas Republican Reps. Kevin Brady and Michael McCaul, is pushing legislation to simplify and strengthen the research and development tax credit by increasing from 14 percent to 20 percent and lasting for businesses and investors. R&D tax credit permanent, could be of special benefit to the State energy industry-fossil fuels and alternative energy-as well as the medical research Community and Texas high-tech companies in Houston. "America is the greatest Innovator in the world," said Brady, R-The woodlands, the main author of the law. "But our part of the world of research and development of the pie is shrinking."He said that the US should "make sure that America is the first choice for research and development work."American research and competitiveness Act of 2011 is laying out two Democrats in California, who represent the high-tech communities, Anna Eshoo and Doris Matsui, together with a member of the House Democratic leadership, John Larson of Connecticut and Minnesota Republican Erick Paulsen. "It is a problem that is not biased, '' said Larson. "This is a problem that cuts to the core of who we are as a nation-the production is part of our DNA."Expires on this year's endThe R&D tax credits was taken temporarily 15 times since 1981. It is currently set to expire at the end of the year. The legislation would, if, cost around $ 100 billion over 10 years. President Barack Obama in 2012 budget supports the implementation of research and development credit permanent and expanding by 20 percent. "We kicked the ball many times on the road, "said Matsui. "It is now time is running out."The fact that the recognition of the permanent, the entrepreneurs and innovators in companies that are as diverse as the power to carry out long-term investment decisions for their business.McCaul said that the proposal of the law "would be very, very positive influence on the economy." McCaul, whose district includes technology from Austin and energy producers in Houston, said a permanent tax credit for research and development "was always resonated as the highest priority" for companies such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard. "This tax credit would support our efforts, as we look to innovate for the future, "said Larry Irving, Vice President, global Government Affairs for HP, which has significant military presence in the area of Houston. IBM advanced research laboratories in Austin produces more patents per capita than his other labs, the company reported.Thousands of positions the richer incentives for research and development can encourage firms to invest in innovation. The expansion of the tax credits, would "encourage the creation of 162,000 jobs in the short term," according to a study issued by the information technology and Innovation Fund in the year 2010. The Fund also estimates that credit expansion would lead to an increase of 66 billion dollars in annual GDP and almost 4 000 new u.s. patents. It is also a valuable one from the academic establishment in the area of Houston, which have been innovators in medical research.This account will help universities and technology companies ' investment and capital to return to the United States, not in full swing, and from this country, "McCaul said.sarah.tung@chron.com

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Posted in green technologies

The production company to continue combating copyright Apple iPhone app-SmartCompany.com.au over

Patrick Stafford court battle between the Australian production company Jigsaw entertainment and tech giant Apple unofficial Chopper Reid-app more than continued this morning, the instructions, the hearing takes place under the federal judges in Sydney this morning after the mediation between the parties failed to resolve the issue.

Today, at the hearing at the end of the representative of Malta to the end of the second session of the month.

Jigsaw Entertainment CEO Nick Murray told the SmartCompany, he is still fully committed to the trial and will continue its "moral crusade" Apple takes responsibility for the work of the alleged intellectual property infringement.

"We are not a huge company, but we are not small either, and prepared the Apple ignores the other people and of our property rights, then the fact that," Murray says.

"We are you meant to respect the quality of Apple's products-which we should be, they are great – but they had the ability to take at least a cursory Glimpse of what is going on," he says.

Apple contacted a comment this morning, but did not respond before publishing.

2010 case began when I discovered that the Jigsaw killer, a 14-year-old app developer by the infringed their copyright in the middle.

The application uses the character soundbites Chopper Reid-Ronnie John for half an hour. Jigsaw contact Apple, saying it violated the copyright of the application, but did not receive a response to several weeks.

However, Murray says he knows, Apple has been detected in the communication because the app-developer father to apologise to the situation of the enterprise as a whole. The application is taken from the store.

But the Jigsaw says, this is not good enough and wants to take responsibility to the Apple application can reside in the site so long.

"It was for sale for weeks, and it sold enough to reach the top five in Australia, the State-of-the-art apps" Murray says. "The injury, which is why it is very important to us. The application was poorly reviewed, since it was returned with the pinched sounds. "

"We had two heated directions hearings — they brought in either the QCs who we thought was over the top. We have the growth companies in the Court of first instance ordered the mediation, and now we go back to the consultations and exchanges of shares concerning companies of different orders are made. "

Murray says the company must now "really pissed" and says Apple has an obligation to ensure, in each of the apps in the store does not infringe any intellectual property rights.

Apple vets apps already sold in the store, but this process is mostly by ensuring satisfactory conditions with regard to each of the app with their own policies. It has shown hesitation to remove apps, which extracts the Apple's own rules – Murray says, this should be extended to cover the liabilities of a legal person.

"All they had been in dialog box, in which this had come from. They say that they have so many apps, it would be unfair for us to check that the goods. But really, I think it is too bad – they decided to put these 350 000 apps in the store. "

Therefore, we are going to pursue it ". They have reached the stage where they are really pissed us. "

Murray also alleges that Apple does not believe it has had the reputation of the company. The App itself rather poor, and Murray says, users can be believed, the application was in the official program, the company.

"But they are not trained. They are trying to block our IP has any value. And I have spoken to, including the judges of the Supreme Law of the people say is – quite unusual that IP theft occurs on its own from the source. "

"We are going to make them pay. We believe that they are responsible. Not fair, and they plan to move much of the resources in this case. "

But it is unclear how good afforded the Jigsaw is actually if the trial goes forward.

Last year, the intellectual property rights lawyer Trevor Choy said that the case was the SmartCompany fascinating, but it would be expensive to move the trial to Jigsaw.

"It is difficult to see, Apple should have been aware of the infringement of the competition rules, unless they were informed and they are still allowed it to sell. That does not appear in the case. "

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