The Creative Endeavors of

Jared E. Bendis

What to do with all those photos?

I recently was on Applause with Dee Perry (link coming soon) talking about what to do with all those photos you took over the holidays.
This is a quick recap with some helpful links.

Edit Your Photos!

First, you have too many photos – it’s great that you took so many but now its time to separate the good from the bad.
If they are blurry they are garbage – you aren’t going to unblur them – just get over it and move on.
You don’t need expensive software to edit the individual photos – there are plenty of free online photo editors out there like http://pixlr.com/.

A few pointers:
Rotate! With a little practice you can straighten most photos.
Crop!  I always tell people that inside of every photo is a better photo and its your job to find it.
Also, special FX does not equal art.  Yeah it can be fun but is it really making something good or just something “different”.

Digital Picture Frames

Digital picture frames are more than just good presents!  Get one for yourself to display your own photos!

Post Them Online

Don’t email your photos, instead create a gallery or a slideshow on a site like Flickr.

Create Prints and Canvas

ImageKind is a great service where you can have your pictures printed on canvas or art paper and even matted and framed. They are not the cheapest service but they create real quality results.

Create Stuff

CafePress allows you to turn any picture into – well almost anything – clothes – mugs – clocks – iPhone cases – you won’t believe all the stuff they let you turn your pictures into!

Create Photo Books

Photo Books are a lot of fun – and much easier to create than you might imagine! All you need to do is upload the pictures to the website and make a few choices.  I am listing three different book making companies. SnapFish is good for short photo books (and other things too).  If you want very large photo books you can use  Blurb – they are a great company if you want more pages, larger format, or high end paper.  LuLu is another company for making Photo Books but also cookbooks and even that novel you are secretly writing.

My Cappadocia Examples

Throughout the episode I showed various samples from my day in Cappadocia (and you don’t have to purchase anything I am just showing you my examples in context).

This is my Cappadocia Flickr Slideshow

This is my ImageKind store for my Cappadocia images on print or canvas

This is my CafePress store with stuff that can be made with my photo of Uchisar Castle

While I showed a book made by SnapFish I have a much larger format version of my Cappadocia book sold at Blurb

If you like my photos you can see more of them on Etsy

I hope this gives you some ideas – go out there and have fun taking your photos to the next level!

Jared

 

Big Files and Portable Hard Drives

Big files can be very unwieldy.

If you are working with digital video tapes you get some pretty big files (DV tapes are 200MB per min or about 12GB per hour). On a PC they are DV encoded AVI files and on a MAC they are DV encoded QuickTime files. They are pretty much identical and will open on any computer for editing but only if you can manage to get them there.

There are other types of big files too – but generally they are video files (or installers).

Files of this size are too large to email, burn to a data DVD, or transfer via the web using a free file transfer service. Even if you are clever enough to open up a direct network share or FTP – the time to transfer them is often way too long to be useful.

Here is the big problem: You can not copy a file larger than 4GB to an ‘off the shelf’ external hard drive unless you do something special to it first.

By default external hard drives come formatted as FAT32 which doesn’t allow for files over 4GB!

Now they come this way on purpose because the FAT32 file system is universally compatible with both Windows and Mac.

So what are your options?

Well that depends on your platform.

On a Windows machine you would want to convert the drive to NTFS and on a Mac you would want to convert it to Mac OS Extended (HFS+). The trick is – one you have converted the drive to one or the other then it is locked only for operating system. There are some tricks around this though which I will get to after we convert the drive.

NTFS Drive Conversion (for Windows Users)

The good news with NTFS drive conversion is that it is SAFE as it doesn’t reformat the drive or destroy the data – it just takes some time.

From a Windows command prompt type following command (in this example the HD is a D drive):

convert D: /fs:ntfs

Follow the prompts – it will ask you for the drive label/name to make sure you aren’t doing this by mistake (because you can’t go backwards).


Mac OS Extended – Drive Conversion (for Macintosh Users)

From your Mac go to the Utilities Folder under Applications and choose the Disk Utility – from here you can reformat/repartition the drive to Mac OS Extended. This does wipe the drive – so be warned!

OK That was the simple part – but what if I am in a mixed environment?
What if I go back and forth between Windows and Mac and need to stay compatible with both?

So this is where it gets a little tricky.

Windows can read and write NTFS drives but Mac can READ but not write to NTFS drives.
So if you are just trying to get your files TO a Mac an NTFS drive can be used but only in one direction.

Solution 1: Allow your Mac to read and write to NTFS drives:

NTFS for Mac is a $20 software package that allows your Mac to both read and write to NTFS drives – it works great and is a quick and easy solution.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/

Solution 2: Allow your Windows machine to read and write to Mac OS Extended (HFS+):

HFS+ for Windows is a $20 software package that allows Windows to both read and write to HFS+ drives – it also works great and is a quick and easy solution.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/

Solution 3: Cross Platform USB Data Transfer Cable

A cross platform USB data transfer cable allows large files to be transferred between two computers. Make sure it is a cross compatible one like the one above so it can do windows-windows mac-mac windows-mac mac-windows (many are windows only). They are cheap and pretty easy to use!

Solution 4: Multi-part File

Lastly, it is possible to break a large file into smaller chunks which can be placed on a FAT32 hard drive or burned to a series of DVDs. Software like this is free and is fairly easy to use.
I suggest HJSplit – it even has setting for presets for different chunk sizes.
http://www.freebyte.com/hjsplit/

Happy moving!

Jared

Jared’s Ultimate Top Tech Holiday Gift Guide

Jared’s Ultimate Top Tech Holiday Gift Guide 2011

After my last few holiday toys blog posts – I was asked to narrow it down and tell you what I really think is hot this year or that I really want.

So here ya go – enjoy!

FYI – my personal Amazon Wishlist is more a reflection on what I watch and read.

Also it’s not high-tech but be sure to check out Rose Iron Works they are open Sunday 12/18/2012 from 1pm-4pm!

The Kindle Fire is redefining what a tablet can be.  A tablet ‘reader’ which really sets itself apart by knowing what it is and how people can use it.  Its cheap – only $200 – its small – much smaller than the iPad but big enough to still be functional.  It doesn’t have a lot of room but it streams video great (Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix).  Most importantly Amazon has done the Apple thing of controlling the device – the app store is cleaner and the interface is slicker than your average Android Tablet.  I own an iPad and I think this is going to find a permanent place in my arsenal of toys.
Don’t just get one set! My friends do amazing things with them and make these crazy big creations.  If you are tactile – this is the toy for you!
It’s science meets food! The kit comes with chemicals (ingredients), tools, and a DVD to teach you how to amaze your friends (and yourself).
I want this one and I already own a cotton candy machine.  What makes this one special? It doesn’t require special sugars! You just add your favorite hard candy and it melts them and spins the sugar.  I have so many crazy ideas for it – and it even works with sugar-free candies!
So first go and get Atari’s Greatest Hits for your iPad (don’t pick and choose the games just get the entire thing). Pop your iPad into the case and your have you own desktop Arcade.  Sure its an amusement – but what a great diversion!
It turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a 3D viewer and game thing.  My favorite app is Sector 17 – uses the gyroscope – I suggest a nice swivel desk chair to play it in!
The ultimate is ‘wow what you are a real geek’ toy!  I have a previous version of this device and its just a surreal experience every time – and now its iPad compatible!
Personal cutters are all the rage – great for scrap booking but all sorts of artists and creative sorts.  This is one of the best reviewed model out there – not only does it cut but you can draw and engrave with it as well!
So maybe you don’t want to cut paper – this device let’s you cut food! It cuts decorative shapes out of gum paste, fondant, frosting sheets, and more!
This is on my must buy list!  Plug it into an HD (or SD) TV and it plays your images and video files – quick and dirty!  This will free up my computer when I want to play a digital file from my computer.  Even takes 2 USB drives at the same time.
This one is just silly – a magic want remote control!  Program it to one of 13 different gestures.  I would buy 2 so you can have true dueling remotes!

The Runner’s Up

I do have a few other shout-outs but I couldn’t put them on my main list.

First is Amazon Prime – I LOVE Amazon Prime. Free 2 day shipping, discounted overnight shipping, one free Kindle Book rental a month and a ton – and I mean a ton – of free movies and TV shows for live streaming on your computer or Kindle Fire (but not iPad).  If its so good – why isn’t it on my list?  You can’t gift it! You can’t even pay for it with a gift card.  All you can do is tell people about it. You’ve been told!

The Sony Personal Viewer – they say its the best 3D headset made in years!  You just can’t get your hands on one until January (and my guess is that’s iffy).  However I really really want one.

Speaking of things I really really want.  The Thing-O-Matic 3D Printer is a toy lovers toy. It makes things.  Its pretty hardcore though.  You have to assemble it and download (or make your own) models for it.  Its not too expensive (as 3D printers go – as toys go maybe) – but it has a 4 to 5 week lead time.

Shipping in Spring of 2012 (we hope) is the Lytro camera – and while I really want one – its like giving a kid in Cleveland a bicycle for Christmas. Here is your present now wait a few months to enjoy it.  When I know they are shipping and they really work – I will be first in line (well I guess second).

OK That’s my personal list of holiday tech toy favorites – enjoy!

Len added these from his list!

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OnStar FMV (Basic Installation Included) OnStar FMV (Basic Installation Included)Upgrade the safety of your vehicle with Automatic Crash Response, a comprehensive safety, security, navigation and communications system, plus a live OnStar advisor 24/7 to help at the touch of a button. Find out if your vehicle is compatible. Note: This item cannot be sold in Alaska or Hawaii.


Pogo Sketch Pro Stylus

Wacom Inkling

Jones Soda with Custom Image

25 Years of Sting – A second look…

This week I was asked by WKYC Channel 3’s Nicole Sellars to give some opinions about Sting’s new iPad app.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/217663/45/Stings-new-app-takes-fans-on-digital-journey

We talked about it for some time and not surprisingly the entire piece was just over a minute.  I figured I might take a few minutes to go into greater detail.

The originally proposed question was: Do I think that apps will eventually replace music in the way that MP3s did the CD and the CD did tapes and records?

My answer: NO

In truth the app is not intended do that – if anything it replaces the book or liner notes which are terribly absent in the age of digital music.

In an era where the album is dead, “a-la-cart” music shopping isn’t just for a few singles but for all songs and it is not surprising that the ‘box set’ might appear to be even deader.

What Sting and company have done here is to give away an amazing promo piece – they give you the booklet and hope you buy the music.

I read on a website that they said they gave it away because they don’t know what it was worth – they will learn – because inside of the app is a link to sample, purchase, and download every Sting song and album.

The app is very polished and very respectable – it doesn’t feel like a giant sales pitch.  And giant it is – its well over 400MB to download and the video files are not included in that.  All of the video is only available via online streaming.

So what is in the app?

The app starts (after a nice little shout-out to Chevrolet and American Express) with a timeline that stretches from 1985 to the present.
Its a little deceptive.  Sting doesn’t being in 1985 – just as a solo artist – its weird to see a Sting timeline without seeing a Police reference.

Anyways – everything is very visual – images slide up and down to the right and left.  Nothing ‘tells’ you its a button but you soon figure out what leads where. For the most part its a mixture of images and video clips.  Again the video clips stream – so your connection becomes a critical point for the apps performance. The pictures are nice but the hand written lyrics are really special.  They could have been better though – they made the lyrics pages a stark black and white (to try and clean them up) and sometimes it feels like they are bad digital photoscopies – even worse you can’t zoom in and really get into them.  Another annoying thing is that you don’t know you are at the end of a section until it doesn’t let you go any more.  You can really get into a section and without an indication of where you are you want more and more and then… brick wall.

Scattered throughout are 360 degree object virtual reality photographs of his instruments.  These are great if… if you can find them and if you can realize to slide from side to side to get them to spin instead of just clicking the zoom button (which makes you think they are simply zoomable photographs).   I loved the video clip placed next to each instrument though to allow you to see them in context (and action).

The clips from the Sixtieth Birthday Concert are great though they really do feel more like excerpts of something bigger (the songs are whole) but it really is a tease.

Probably the most innovative section was the interactive map.  This places hotspot of of his life over a Google map that you could explore and would lead you back into the other sections.  Interesting but probably a little out there for most. And of course the music icon that allows you to demo and purchase all the songs.

Overall its a really good app.  No question it is enjoyable and something you can really get lost in.

Will change the way I listen to music? No – of course not.

First – its an iPad app so its not even meant to live where I keep my music (my iPhone and iPod Touch).   Second – even if it was all of Stings songs in one place – it probably would only appeal to people who ONLY want to listen to Sting all day (my brother).   Will it change the way music is marketed?  Sure.  But Sting isn’t the first to do this – he is just the most famous – or probably more importantly doing it on this type of scale.  You have to be Sting to have people want to read your liner notes before you buy the album. The bigger question is less one of content but of design.  Assuming that the app is successful (how could it not be) and that people buy songs (of course they will) how will the industry follow this up?

If they just take this exact app and pop in U2 stuff for Sting – then it might feel stale – we demand both the content and design to be unique and Sting gets both because he is mainstreaming early.
How will the designs stay fresh without going crazy or becoming obnoxious – and what happens when a record executive says – why aren’t we charging for this?

Lastly, what is so different about this than a website?  I mean its images, streaming video, some object VRm a Google map, and a bunch of links to the iTunes store.
This is where design comes in – if it felt like a website we would reject it – if it feels like a marketing pitch we reject it. And we want it in our hands on our mobile devices – everything on them feels just a little bit closer.

Overall Sting and company have done a brilliant job of balancing – giving as much as they are asking – and that’s what makes this a pretty spiffy app!

Now please please please can ELO make one next!

 

 

 

 

 

The Film Broke!

A strange thing happened last night at the movies.

The film broke.

I haven’t seen anything like it in so long that at first we all thought it was part of the movie – the pause of the film and then the burning of the frame until the screen was a pure white.
I kept having flashes of The Muppet Movie. But after a few moments we all realized that the film had gotten stuck and melted.

So we waited. About 2 minutes later the lights turned on.
No one came out to say anything and we just waited realizing that if the lights were on that someone knew what was happening and probably splicing the film.

We waited.

About 5 minutes later – the lights when ALL the way on and a manager (and a security guard) came in to tell us that they would not be able to repair the film and that if we would leave the theater he would be giving us replacement passes.

So we left and he handed us each a movie pass.

We were at most 5 minutes from the end of the film. I don’t know how it ends (well it was J Edgar so I do know how it ends) but I don’t care to sit through the entire film again to see the ending.

As a regular of the theater I told another manager that this wasn’t acceptable – it wasn’t enough. They ruined my evening – they didn’t get that – sure I got my ticket money back – but what about my time (or my popcorn) or my general disappointment. Was I going to blow this pass on a movie I had already seen most of and didn’t want to sit though again? She said that later in the week I could come back and just pop in to see the ending. This was nice and I might do that but what about everyone else? What about the fact that the free movie ticket was done to make them feel better – to scrape by with the least amount of effort.

No one left that theater happy.

And when the manager brought security with him to inform us we needed to leave – he knew it too.

He just didn’t care.

Shame on them.

Apple rejected my latest app!

I just got off the phone with Apple – they told me they were not going to approve my latest app.

This isn’t the first that Apple has rejected an app – they once rejected a gag iPad app – they said it didn’t have enough function, which was probably true, so I let it go.  They also didn’t like the functionality of one of my iPhone apps but after a quick explanation they changed their mind.

However this one doesn’t make any sense.  They rejected Mandalas Gallery Edition.

My kaleidoscopic painting program Mandalas has been very popular.  It has been so popular that I now give away a free version – Mandalas FREE – that has the same functionality but also has ads.

I have been taking iPads and the app to art exhibitions and galleries as part of a work called “The Mandalas Project”.

http://lemminglabs.com/about-the-mandala-project/

“The Mandalas Project” is a collection of images made by the Mandalas app by users at these galleries and exhibitions.  The Mandalas app has been part of 7 exhibitions to date (most by invitation) and has even won an award at a juried show.  For these installations I have created a modified version of the app called Mandalas Gallery, which has a custom user interface.  In this version the screen has instructions on it at all times, resets after every save, and resets if nothing is pressed for some time, it also has no ads.  I used my experience from working at various art festivals (and my time working at the Cleveland Museum of Art) to craft an exhibition friendly interactive.

So I took this app – wrote a very clear description of what it does and whom it is for (and also telling people to try the free one first) and set the price at tier 80 – or $499.  This actually is a discount from what I would normally charge (plus Apple takes their 1/3).  My business partner questioned if Apple would have a problem with such a high price – but as I reminded him – they are the ones who set the tier levels – they make a tier 80 (hell they even make a tier 99) so they must expect a situation where someone might use it.  We aren’t being wishful here either – the project is a reality – it has lived in galleries and we have been paid to do it.

I posted it and waited.  I knew something was wrong when they emailed me and said there would be a delay in the review.  And then they called me.  I was surprised. Last time it was all done via email.  The guy on the phone was very nice but he said that I had rated the program at ages 4+.  I explained that I just filled out the form and since it wasn’t dirty, violent, or scary it automatically rated at 4+.  He said that since the price was so high I needed to get it rated at 17+ so that no one purchased it by mistake.  This is fair – I am not looking for ‘sucker sales’ I just want to be able to sell it to galleries without having to setup their iPads myself.

He instructed me to re-submit the app with the 17+ rating – to get it to 17+ he told me to hit the scary, adult, violence buttons and that they would know why I was rating it so high.  I did this and also put in the review notes why I was doing it.  I do think it is weird that there isn’t a button just called 17+ where a developer can choose to make it 17+ without using those presets.  So I posted it and waited again.

I was surprised when after a few days I again got an alert that said that there would be a delay in the review.  I missed the first phone call from Apple and when I returned it they said they could have someone call me back – they could not transfer me.  When the guy did call me back he said that the app was too expensive.  I started to explain to him about things and also that I spoke to someone previously on this.  He told me he was the one who I spoke to and that they felt my app wasn’t worth that much money.  (He never told me why he didn’t tell me this the last time – I assume their process is very rigid and very linear.) So I explained it all over again about the galleries and the modifications and such.  He asked why I didn’t just use the business to business distribution model instead.  I told him that if I was trying to push this to galleries that I wouldn’t mind it but that with galleries viewing iPad apps as legitimate forms of art that being able to post it to the app store for people to see and find should be perfectly valid.  He said they he couldn’t help me because they ‘didn’t feel it was worth that much money’.  So I asked him how much they DID feel it was worth. He told me he couldn’t say – just that it wasn’t worth THAT much.  Now this is silly – they allow for the high prices – I can prove that I have sold the app for MORE than this – it as been IN galleries – all he can tell me is to try again until he feels that the price is right but can’t tell me how they come to their valuation?

Then he asks why it is even a separate app and suggests that I make it an in-app purchase.  Now this is a ridiculous suggestion.  I definitely don’t want the average person sitting there seeing a buy-it-now button for a $499 upgrade that they won’t want – that is just bad business.  It also isn’t the model!

He did tell me I can contest this and I will be taking to the appeals board.  I do want to say that he was very nice – but the situation is unacceptable.

What do you think?

JaredJared

I have moved!  I am now blogging directly from JaredJared.com!