Dropbox adds six languages to its repertoire, throws in photo improvements for Android app

Dropbox's gone a little bit more global, adding Russian, Polish, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese language support to its file sharing service. The translated versions are available across Mac, PC, Linux and Dropbox's web interface, with an iOS version apparently in the works and "coming soon." Alongside those language credits, the Android app has also improved how it shows off the entirety of your photo collection, which should make the most of all those instant uploads.

Source: Dropbox (1), (Google Play)

Source

By: Unknown On 11:01 AM

Continue Reading

TourWrist puts a twist on the photo sphere (hands-on video)

You've heard of Instagram, right? Are you familiar with Microsoft's Photosynth and Google's Photo Sphere on Nexus phones and tablets? How about Apple's brilliant continuous-scan panorama mode on iOS devices? Well mash all this up and you get TourWrist, an app / social network for sharing photo spheres. The app started life as a social network for virtual tourism and gained one million users since launching in 2010. Here in Las Vegas, the company just launched the latest version of TourWrist with a focus on capturing photos spheres. Unlike Microsoft's and Google's approach, which stitches 360-degree images from discrete pictures, the app uses continuous-scan like Apple's panorama mode. The resulting photo spheres are truly impressive and look significantly better than the competition, especially when captured in tricky lighting conditions. All 360-degree images can be shared with other TourWrist users, Instagram-style, and with other social networks by linking to an HTML5-compatible viewer. Take a look at our gallery below and peek after the break for our hands-on video and sample photo sphere captured on site.

TourWrist hands-onSee all photoswhen.eng("eng.galleries.init")

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 10:20 PM

Continue Reading

Dropbox update for Android brings fast, public photo album sharing

Dropbox is rapidly bulking up its Android app's photo sharing strength after lavishing some early attention on iOS. A newly posted refresh for the Google-friendly version lets photographers mass-select whole albums' worth of images quickly to share with anyone, whether they're Dropbox users or not. Android users who've been eager for parity just need to swing by the Google Play source link to get their fill.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")

Via: Dropbox

Source: Google Play

Tags: android, cloud, cloudstorage, dropbox, minipost, mobilepostcross, mobilepostmini, photography, smartphone

when.eng("eng.share.init") when.eng("eng.livefyre.init", {articleId: 20427036,checksum: "5393228ea07078f6d8ea1737124089db",collectionMeta: "eyJ0eXAiOiJqd3QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ0aXRsZSI6IkRyb3Bib3ggdXBkYXRlIGZvciBBbmRyb2lkIGJyaW5ncyBmYXN0LCBwdWJsaWMgcGhvdG8gYWxidW0gc2hhcmluZyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHA6XC9cL3d3dy5lbmdhZGdldC5jb21cLzIwMTNcLzAxXC8xMlwvZHJvcGJveC11cGRhdGUtZm9yLWFuZHJvaWQtYnJpbmdzLWZhc3QtcHVibGljLXBob3RvLWFsYnVtLXNoYXJpbmdcLyIsInRhZ3MiOiIiLCJjaGVja3N1bSI6IjUzOTMyMjhlYTA3MDc4ZjZkOGVhMTczNzEyNDA4OWRiIiwiYXJ0aWNsZUlkIjoiMjA0MjcwMzYifQ.MSFpGAcdajMdVri42fmN98Z1b5l8c0nyzaA-Fd2L4Y4",domain: "engadget.fyre.co",siteId: "296092"}) onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93312528", "RR", "RR"); adSetType("");}}); onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93312531", "314", "260", "text", "IMU2");}}); onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93313444", "160", "600","AJAX","ajaxskyscraper");}}); when.eng("eng.rail.init") Sites We LikeTechgdgtSlashdotMAKETechnology ReviewArs TechnicaTechMemePhone ScoopDesignFFFFOUND!Core77Popcorn ShowerMoCo LocoDesign*SpongeThe SartorialistNewsHuffPost PoliticsThe Daily BeastHuffington PostTaxesStock QuotesDJIALifestyleLifehackerHuffPost WomenStylelistAutomotiveGadlingEnvironmentalInhabitatGoodAutoblog GreenHuffpost GreenEntertainmentMassivelyThe Onioni09HuffPost CelebritySpinnerMoviefone About UsSubscribe via RSSLike Engadget on Facebook@engadget on TwitterEspañol???????????DeutschlandJoystiq'The Free Bundle' collects free indies Nitronic Rush, Abobo's Big Adventure and moreJaleel White returns for Sonic fan filmWRUP: One flu over the cuckoo's nestTuawWalls360 offers Susan Kare icons for your wallsCES: Roccat's Power-Grid is almost ready to be switched onCES 2013: Wilson Electronics introduces the Sleek 4G booster to get your iPhone more signalTechCrunchNadia Heninger Is Watching YouCarvoyant Is Ready To Put Your Car In The CloudParku Looks To Make Parking Spot Rentals Mobile-Friendly In EuropeHuffPost TechSHOTS FIREDWant To Contact Zuckerberg? It'll Cost You $100Apple Doesn't Completely Shut Door On 'iPhone Mini'AOL Tech.

© 2013 AOL Inc.
All rights reserved.Privacy PolicyTerms of UseTrademarksAOL A-Z HelpAdvertise with Us

onBreak({980: function () { htmlAdWH("93312529",'LB','LB','AJAX','ajaxbanner');}}); lab.script("//zor.fyre.co/wjs/v1.0/javascripts/CommentCount.js");// iOS scaling fix(function(e){var c="addEventListener",b="gesturestart",g="querySelectorAll",f=[1,1],d=g in e?e[g]("meta[name=viewport]"):[];function a(){d.content="width=device-width,minimum-scale="+f[0]+",maximum-scale="+f[1];e.removeEventListener(b,a,true)}if((d=d[d.length-1])&&c in e){a();f=[0.25,1.6];e[c](b,a,true)}}(document));

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 9:41 PM

Continue Reading

Watch Randi Zuckerberg Have a Facebook Freakout Over Her Photo Going Viral

This story will display in ...

You probably already read about Randi Zuckerberg's faux-privacy violation on Facebook this week. But odds are you're not part of her inner circle. Lucky for you, a tipster who's "Friends" with RZ gave up the goods directly from her wall.

While Randi was admonishing people for lacking "human decency" on Twitter—dispatches she'd delete shortly after writing—she was fretting to her vast Friend following about how to handle the situation. The situation being that a completely innocuous photo she'd inadvertently made public through tagging was circulating the Internet. And to think, it was a viral hit even without the original caption: "Mark convinced everyone to download the 'poke' app, so now my family is standing around sexting. Awk. Ward." Truly! Where was Priscilla?

Of course, Randi, who may or may not like attention, didn't let it go, instead issuing a presidential statement to her friends alone, and the now-notorious tweet about "human decency" to the masses.

We all saw how that turned out.

She then asked: should she ignore the quasi-controversy? (Too late) Was it just a slow news day? (Yes, it was)

Dozens of Randi's Silicon Valley chums chimed in, including Google exec Hunter Walk, begging RZ to let it go.

Ignore, ignore, ignore, the people said. Tech investor Michael Arrington chimed in with something incoherent.

Former Microsoft big shot Robert Scoble warned that this will only get worse with the spread of Google Glass. Venture capitalist Dave McClure referred fondly to the time the three of them played Rock Band in 2008. Still, the friends all said let it go. She never did.

It's strange to look inside, from a friend's point of view, and see Mark Zuckerberg's sister miss the mark by so many yards. When something is out there, it's out there, free to be shared like any other rumor, joke, or dog meme—and Randi's family is rich because of it. It's not even Facebook's fault. No privacy setting could have prevented this, short of blocking everyone. Although whining about "decency" should make our eyes roll, she's got the human part spot on—so long as we're friends with humans on Facebook, those same people are free to spread whichever parts of your life they choose, and spread it widely. Because we like doing it, and that's what Facebook is for.

Randi's brother's life goal is "Making the world more open and connected," and he's doing a good job at it. But the more connected we are, the quicker we're just going to be the way we were a century ago. We like funny things. We like being in on the joke. And when you're a self-appointed tech celeb, your frustration becomes a currency anyone will spend. One of your over 2,300 Facebook friends sold you out for a quick laugh Randi, and they'll keep doing it over and over again, to all of us, so long as we're all making money for your brother.

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 9:29 PM

Continue Reading

Facebook Instagram use dived after photo fiasco: AppData

A photo illustration shows the applications Facebook and Instagram on the screen of an iPhone in Zagreb April 9, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Antonio Bronic

SAN FRANCISCO | Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:02pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's Instagram lost almost a quarter of its daily users a week after it rolled out and then withdrew policy changes that incensed users who feared the photo-sharing service would use their pictures without compensation.

Instagram, which Facebook bought for $715 million this year, saw the number of daily active users who accessed the service via Facebook bottom out at 12.4 million as of Friday, versus a peak of 16.4 million last week, according to data compiled by online tracker AppData.

The popular app, which allows people to add filters and effects to photos and share them over the Internet or smartphones, experienced the drop over the brief, often-volatile holiday period.

Other popular apps also saw slippage in usage, and some were more pronounced. Yelp, for instance, saw daily active users -- again via Facebook -- slide to a weekly low of half a million on Thursday, from a high of 820,000 one week ago.

Instagram disputed the AppData survey, which was compiled from users that have linked the photo service to their own Facebook accounts, historically between 20 and 30 percent of Instagram members.

"This data is inaccurate. We continue to see strong and steady growth in both registered and active users of Instagram," a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Friday.

Looking out over a broader timeframe, Instagram's monthly active users edged up to 43.6 million as of Friday, an increase of 1.7 million over the past seven days, according to AppData.

"We'll have to monitor the data over the coming weeks to gain perspective on trends in Instagram's performance," AppData marketing manager Ashley Taylor Anderson said in an email.

ATTENTION-SEEKING

The sharp slide in activity highlighted by AppData was bound to draw attention on the heels of the controversial revision to Instagram's terms of service that, among other things, allowed an advertiser to pay Instagram "to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)" without compensation.

The subsequent public outrage prompted an apology from Instagram founder Kevin Systrom. Last week, a California Instagram user sued the company for breach of contract and other claims, in what may have been the first civil lawsuit to stem from the controversial change.

Instagram subsequently reverted to some of its original language.

The move renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.

Analysts say Facebook, the world's largest social network, was laying the groundwork to begin generating advertising revenue, by giving marketers the right to display profile pictures and other personal information, such as who users follow in advertisements.

Its shares closed down 13 cents or 0.5 percent at $25.91 on the Nasdaq, in line with the broader market.

(Reporting By Edwin Chan; Editing by Leslie Adler and Andrew Hay)

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 7:07 PM

Continue Reading

A Stunning Two Billion Pixel Photo Is the Safest Way To Explore Mount Everest

This story will display in ...Dec 19, 2012 9:05 AM  

Not only has filmmaker David Breashears climbed Mount Everest on five different occasions, he's visited the world's tallest peak 15 times in his career as he works to document the effects of climate change on the mountain. And fortunately for those of us who will never have the chance to see Everest in real life, let alone climb it, Breashers created a stunning gigapixel photo of the mountain and the Khumbu glacier earlier in the year.

The final composite, which can be panned, zoomed, and viewed on the GlacierWorks website, was assembled from almost 400 separate shots taken with a 300 millimeter zoom lens. It's so detailed you can apparently even see climbers making an ascent, and one of the base camps full of tents, all from the comfort and warmth of your couch. [GlacierWorks via NPR via Washington Post]

Image by David Breashears/GlacierWorks

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 12:14 AM

Continue Reading

Review: Sparkbooth Turns a PC Into a Photo booth

Looking for a neat party favor? No need to rent a photo booth to capture a few silly photos when you have Sparkbooth installed on your computer. This clever application lets you use a webcam and a computer to capture photo strips, almost as if you were sitting in a real photo booth. And while the software is on the expensive side—$59 for a consumer license—it's a whole lot cheaper than actually renting a photo booth.

Sparkbooth is free to try for 10 days, but the demo version places a watermark on all of your photos.  To use Sparkbooth, simply install it on your Windows or Mac computer and attach your Webcam. Sparkbooth will find it automatically, and displays a large preview photo on the screen—and this preview is a lot more accurate at showing you what your photo will look like than those old mirrors you find in some photo booths.

You hit the space bar to begin, and it then begins snapping four pictures in succession. The application alerts you when it's about to capture the image, and then displays the results in a sequence of images that appear on screen.

Sparkbooth can create cute photo strips for your party guests.

Sparkbooth includes a few effects that you can add to your photos: color (which is the default), black & white, sepia, and fomomatic (which makes it look like it was shot with a toy camera). You can change these settings via Sparkbooth's menu, which is a little cumbersome, or you can add a keyboard shortcut to change them more easily. Sparkbooth's creator notes that the number of effects is limited because the software is really designed for use with guests who will want to sit for a photo and move on, not mess around with the software. In that respect, he's right: the software really is easy to use for anyone who just wants to sit for their photos and then get back to the party.

Where Sparkbooth can't match up to a real, live photo booth is in the printing; you will need to add a printer to get a take-away print. A portable photo printer would be ideal for this, but that adds to the cost. You can set the application to automatically print photos with a customizable layout that can include a company logo and event name, and there are several templates on offer. You can also send photos right to Twitter, Facebook and email, should your guests want to share them.

I did run into a few stumbling blocks when testing Sparkbooth: When I tested it using the integrated webcam on my Windows 7 laptop, the app kept crashing. After nearly every strip of photos it captured, Sparkbooth would hang and then crash. The software's creator notes that it was likely due to my integrated webcam, and I did have much better results when I attached an external webcam via USB. But I do wish the application worked better with my internal camera; it already costs $59 for the software itself, so paying for a new webcam in addition pushes up the price even more.

Overall, though, Sparkbooth is fun and easy to use, although you should test it with your webcam and printer before the party starts. I'm already planning to pull it out at my next party.

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 2:35 PM

Continue Reading