Please Share

Friday, June 18, 2010

Getty Images And Flickr Team Up - Amateur Photographers Rejoice!

Getty Images is one of the giants in the stock photography game and they are now working together with Flickr to increase their catalog of photos by tapping into the massive library. Flickr users will receive payment for photos that they agree to release to Getty. Neither Flickr nor Getty is commenting on how much money will change hands saying that prices vary from job to job but are industry standard. The BBC speculates the rate for an image at somewhere between $150-$240 (£100-£160). 

"This deal helped me get my foot in the door with Getty, something I had been trying to do for years. And while I am concerned about opening up the floodgates, I am going to take it as a challenge. But I am really not worried because I like to think I am good at what I do," said Hal Bergman a website developer turned freelance photographer.

In one of my earliest post I let you in on my brush with Flickr fame, I didn't receive any monetary compensation but was honored think that my photo would be in print! I did receive a copy of the book which is proudly tucked away in my son's room. Perhaps Flickr does equal fame and fortune? 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

YouTube, Not Just For Hosting Anymore

The Official Google Blog is reporting that the YouTube engineers have been hard at work developing editing capabilities into the service that will enable you to quickly and easily preform some basic editing of your video works of art. The new feature is available through TestTube now, and will give you access to thousands of soundtrack audio clips, provide cropping abilities and also allow stitching of multiple clips into a timeline. Check out this video intro: 


Note: it is safe for work, and maybe it's just me, but it's a little disturbing, educational, and entertaining all at the same time. British humor... :)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Working In The Cloud

Google is bringing 16 new apps to the Google Apps Marketplace. Six months ago this would not have meant anything to me, today however my work largely happens in the cloud as my current employer has embraced the idea wholeheartedly. We are a Google apps shop, gmail handles our mail, calendar our schedules, sites and documents our files. At first it was a bit of a change for me having moved from a Microsoft Office environment, but day by day I'm learning the virtues of life in the cloud.

The Official Google blog provides a link to this video which explains how to add an app to your domain.


According to their post "We’ve added some great new apps since we launched in March and today we’re bringing you 16 new apps to the Marketplace." Three of the featured apps are:

* Jive: Jive Social Business Software combines collaboration, community and social networking software, allowing you to engage employees, customers and the social web.

* Harvest: Harvest is a simple time tracking application that makes it fast and easy for businesses to track billable hours and create invoices.

* Floorplanner Pro: Floorplanner Pro provides a quick and easy way for real estate agents and facilities professionals to create and share interactive floor plans in both 2D as 3D.

Life in the cloud is not as scary as we all thought it would be and Google is making the addition of new apps as easy as adding an app to your smartphone.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Border Crossing Wait Times Tweeted By Canadian Border Services Agency

The Canadian Border Services Agency is now trying to assist travelers to the US via Twitter, at least through this busy summer season. "The CBSA is committed to applying low-cost technologies like Twitter to keep service delivery standards high without increasing costs to the taxpayer," Stephen Rigby, the president of CBSA says in a news release on the agency's website. This page will take you to the agency's instructions for it's feed in this 3 month pilot project. It works like this:

You can simply follow @cbsa_bwt or use the hashtags below to select your desired crossing and search for tweets on the estimated wait times in effect.

St. Stephen, NB / Calais, ME #CBSA_STS
Belleville, NB / Houlton, ME #CBSA_WSR
Stanstead, QC / Derby Line, VT #CBSA_STD
St. Armand, QC / Highgate Springs, VT #CBSA_SAP
Lacolle, QC / Champlain, NY #CBSA_SBL
Cornwall, ON / Rooseveltown, NY #CBSA_CWL
Lansdowne, ON / Alexandria Bay, NY #CBSA_TIB
Queenston, ON / Lewiston, NY #CBSA_QLB
Niagara Falls, ON / Niagara Falls, NY #CBSA_RBB
Fort Erie, ON / Buffalo, NY #CBSA_PBR
Windsor, ON / Detroit, MI #CBSA_ABB
Windsor, ON / Detroit, MI #CBSA_DCT
Sarnia, ON / Port Huron, MI #CBSA_BWB
Sault Ste. Marie, ON / Sault Ste. Marie, MI #CBSA_SSM
Fort Frances, ON / International Falls, MN #CBSA_FFB
Emerson, MB / Pembina, ND #CBSA_EMR
North Portal, SK / Portal, ND #CBSA_NPL
Coutts, AB / Sweet Grass, MT #CBSA_CTS
Surrey, BC / Blaine, WA #CBSA_PCH
Surrey, BC / Blaine, WA #CBSA_DPA
Delta, BC / Point Roberts, WA #CBSA_BBY
Huntingdon, BC / Sumas, WA #CBSA_HTD

If you are travelling to Detroit this morning you'll be happy to know that:

#CBSA_ABB Commercial Flow: No delay, Travellers Flow: No delay

Monday, June 14, 2010

E3's Here, What Games Will We Be Playing Next?

E3 is upon us and if you want to know what you'll be playing come Christmas time, check out Wired's round up of the top 10 game trailers. Look's like a number of the great game franchise's are represented: Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock, Rock Band 3, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (online), Transformers War for Cybertron, and the one I'm most interested in, Call of Duty Black Ops!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Taking Time For Mother Nature

Yesterday I woke up and smelled the roses...

We've had what seems like weeks of rain and temperatures that I'd guess are below seasonal for May and through the first week of June. Saturday, albeit cool, was a beautifully sunny day on Prince Edward Island and rather than the usual weekend running around we decided to take a little break to appreciated what we have here. Armed only with my trusty Canon PowerShot S5IS, a few years old but I love it and have no intentions on replacing it any time soon, we hopped in the car and headed towards Cavendish and Mother Nature smiled on us. 

Being a native Northern New Brunswicker, where wildlife grows large and plentiful, I've always loved my chance encounters with animals of all types. Moose, deer, black bear, coyote, porcupine, fox, skunk, rabbit, I've more than one story I could tell you about each. Since moving to Prince Edward Island in '99 I've never really appreciated the local wildlife scene, there are no large wild animals here, and except for the occasional fox, which are rather plentiful, I've not experienced much of the local variety. Yesterday, I slowed down, open my eyes and was rewarded for it. The trip from my house to Cavendish can be done in under a half hour but I'm sure it must have taken 2 to 3 times that yesterday, I wasn't counting. I didn't take the direct route choosing instead to slow down and meander along the coast looking at the great landscapes, some beautiful homes, and was rewarded with a new appreciation for the local inhabitants. While the pictures can't truly express the feeling of seeing these beautiful creatures up close, I hope you'll find some joy in them as well.










Search

Google