Tourist Remover photoshops stray tourists out of your snaps

Tourist Remover is a web app that will remove other tourists from the photos you took of landmarks while on vacation as a tourist. All you have to do is take multiple shots of the same location, and Tourist Remover will only keep the bits that stay the same.

How cool is that?

[Joel Johnson via boingboing]

Yet Another Vogue for the iPhone: Video Games

The video game industry that is sitting up and taking notice, writes The New York Times . Of the 50,000 programs available for the iPhone and iPod Touch through Apple’s App Store, games are the largest category, about 20 percent of the offerings, according to the mobile analytics and advertising company Mobclix. The company also said that more than half of the billion downloads from the App Store are games.

Called casual gamers, these people who play a game for a few minutes here or there are a sought-after group by a video-game industry searching for growth.

Greg Joswiak, head of marketing for the iPhone and iPod, said, “This is the future of gaming.” The company has emphasized iPhone gaming in several television commercials.

The popularity of gaming among iPhone users — some 79 percent of all iPhone owners have downloaded games, compared with 31 percent of smartphone users in general, according to data from the Web analytics firm Compete — has game publishers flocking to get their titles on the platform.

Read full article.

Google chief: Iran can't control the net

Google chief executive, Eric Schmidt, speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, said that it was at their "peril" that regimes such as Iran attempt to impose blackouts on media such as TV, internet, radio and mobile phones. The Guardian reports.

He added that the search giant, which owns video sharing website YouTube, always tried to explain to regimes that restrict communication that, ultimately, attempts to isolate a population fail.

"We have lots of lawyers, lawyers in every one of these countries," Schmidt said. "We explain if they do this [block freedom of speech and communication] what will happen. Sometimes they moderate their behaviour and sometimes not. If they don't listen to us it is at their peril."

Speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk following the seminar, Schmidt expanded on this point: "By 'peril' I mean it is what the citizens will do, citizens can no longer be restricted by the kind of strategies evil dictatorships do... you can't keep people in the dark."

Image from Wired.

YouTube Mobile Uploads Up 400% Since iPhone 3GS Launch

YouTube reports that in the six days since the iPhone 3GS was released last week, the number of mobile uploads has increased by a whopping 400%. For a single phone model to have such a major impact on the site is simply phenomenal. [via TechCrunch]

Even without the iPhone, YouTube is seeing major growth across the entire mobile space — the site has seen uploads go up 1700% over the last six months. It’s not hard to guess why. Video-enabled smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, as are high speed data connections.

YouTube also attributes part of the growth to a streamlined upload flow (note how easy it is to upload a video from your iPhone to the site), as well as its improved sharing capabilities (you can now syndicate your videos to services like Facebook and Twitter).

CNN: We Don’t Need YouTube and Twitter to Tell Us What’s Going on in Iran–We’ve Got iReport

CNN's iReport is the news service’s attempt to create its own user-generated news hub. It’s supposed be to be able attract eyeballs on its own and in some cases, feed the Web site and the cable channel with free content donated by viewers. Peter Kafka reports for All Things Digital.

CNN says it has been using the site heavily to augment its Iran coverage. From a press release it sent out earlier this week: “Since last week, we’ve received 4555 iReport submissions related to Iran–including more than 1600 this past Saturday and Sunday alone, and an additional 689 just yesterday.

To date, 150 of the Iran-related iReports have been vetted and verified by CNN producers for use on CNN air or online–something the likes of YouTube or Flickr just aren’t equipped to do given their lack of newsgathering infrastructure.” (Yesterday CNN told me it added another 399 Iran-related iReports, and that seven had made it onto air. Presumably those numbers are still increasing.)

CNN producers have contacted the people who sent in all of the Iran-related iReports it has featured on the network and at least verified that they are who they say they are. That in itself seems worthwhile, and maybe even worth bragging about.

Related: - Unverifiable Citizens' Journalism in Iran

RFID will be in all new mobiles by 2010 says Ericsson

All new mobiles will be packing a RFID chip by summer 2010 - ultimately opening up the possibility of your phone also becoming the keys to your car or your house. Cnet.uk reports.

That's the prediction of Ericsson's VP of systems architecture, Håkan Djuphammar, speaking at the mobile infrastructure company's Business Innovation Forum in Stockholm on Tuesday.

He told delegates: "A year from now basically every new phone that's sold will have [Near Field Communication]. It's a two-way, bio-directional RFID communication link that makes this device work as a tag or as a reader."

ThisMoment captures personal scenes with a social sheen

New website thisMoment.com has launched with quite a splash. It's been rave-reviewed by USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. And here's The Christian Science Monitor' report:

thisMomentis designed to let people save and share the moments of their lives by giving them a really simple but extremely powerful tool that enables them to bring together all different kinds of media around these moments,” says Broady, an entrepreneur who previously developed and ran entertainment websites for CNET and Yahoo.

When viewing a thisMoment slideshow, readers scroll down through the text, however brief or long, and scroll across the screen for related images and videos. Makers of thisMoment “moments” can connect directly with their other social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, or YouTube to easily pull all their online material together.”

Each “moment” can be shared in whatever way the user wants: kept private, shared with the other people that were involved in the “moment,” with Facebook friends, with other customized groups of family or friends, or left public to be seen by anyone.

Ahmadinejad's Fear of the Internet

Iran's rulers are afraid of the Net because it's being used to organize resistance. Western media also rely on it to get news out of the country. Business Week reports.

... So far there has been very little discussion about the authenticity of the images, like that which took place in connection with the riots in Tibet in early 2008. Nevertheless, the photos and videos from Iranian demonstrators' mobile phone cameras exhibit familiar problems: It is sometimes difficult to see where the footage was shot and what exactly is going on.

The entire international media are now relying on material from amateur sources—material which was once viewed with much skepticism—because there are hardly any other images coming out of the country and the world is desperate to see what is happening on the ground.

Admittedly photo agencies have already been using amateur shots for some time. Reuters, for example, operates the platform YouWitness, while Getty Images recently teamed up with Flickr, the mother of all photo platforms. Photo agencies using amateur pictures generally take great pains to make sure that the photographers are really who they say they are, and that the picture actually shows what it claims to be showing. This makes the agencies more reliable—but also much slower. Compared to the overflowing sources of the so-called social media, fact-checked news appears to be moving in slow motion.

Read full article.

Iran bans prayers for 'Angel of Freedom' Neda Agha Soltan

This video or group may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube's user community.

Iran's regime has issued a ban on memorials for a young woman whose death has become the focal point of protests against the clerical regime. The Telegraph reports.

Neda Agha Soltan, 27, was dubbed the Angel of Freedom after a video which appeared to show her being shot by a government sniper was posted on the internet.

Graphic scenes show Neda – her name means "the call" – walking with her father among demonstrators, then separately when she was shot as well as attempts to save her life.

Some online posts speculated the image would rank alongside that of the unnamed man standing in front of a tank in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the summary execution of a Vietnamese Communist prisoner by Colonel Nugyen Ngoc Loan in 1968.

Footage was posted on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and was viewed by tens of thousands. Messages of sympathy and outrage flooded the internet following the posting of the videos.

The Iranian authorities have now sent out a circular to mosques banning collective prayers for the woman.

E-Money in Japan: Overview through videos

CScout Japan has posted a series of videos, showing how the Japanese are using contactless e-money cards or enabled cell phones, to pay for their subway fair, buy drinks from vending machines, purchase an airline ticket, check into a hotel room, pay for a public locker or pay for access to a public restroom.

Japan is well known for its well-developed e-money infrastructure. With RFID integration in mobile phones, train passes, and even loyalty cards for shops, it’s possible to do a great deal of your shopping and transportation without carrying cash or using a credit card either.

TwitPict gets an iPhone app

TwitPict app is a client application of Twitpic, the photo sharing service of Twitter. By Japanese developer itok.

How does it work?

1. Launch TwitPict.
2. Take a picture.
3. Input status if needed.
4. Send > Complete.

National Geographic Duet Travel Phone

National Geographic and Cellular Abroad have announced a new travel phone called the Duet that is designed for the needs of the international traveler. The handset has slots for two SIM cards and offers Bluetooth, a camera, FM radio, TV, and a 1GB memory card. I4U reports.

The phone also comes loaded with content from National Geographic including ringtones, wallpapers, and travel videos. The handset ships with the pay-as-you-go National Geographic SIM card for affordable calling from 185 different countries and free incoming calls in over 80 countries.

Mobile footage sent to BBC Persian TV shows

People in Iran are continuing to contact the BBC's interactive services with their accounts and pictures of recent unrest as tens of thousands again take to the streets of the capital, Tehran, in protest at election results.

Read full article on the BBC.

Young Iranians use mobile phones to video events

With traditional forms of communication blocked, Iranians are using technology to keep the world informed about events. The BBC reports.

Middle East political and security analyst James Spencer told the BBC: "As foreign correspondents find their work restricted and their visas curtailed, the ubiquity of the mobile phone... is coming to the fore.

The ability to send graphic, near live-time footage, often then uploaded to YouTube elsewhere, is an incredibly powerful tool.

"This raw imagery has little need for translation or editing, and often under-cuts the State's message, both in content, and by pre-emption."

He added that tags like "IranElection" on the social networking site Twitter have attracted huge numbers of "followers".

These tweets often reference a YouTube clip or a URL, thus further increasing the audience, he said.

A YouTube spokesperson said there had been an increase in activity for all types of videos related to the Iranian election.

Related: - Iran Protests: Tech Tools at Work

Wimbledon app for Android, Twitter and iPhone

IBM is set to launch applications for Android, Twitter and iPhone that use real-time updates to provide a more technologically advanced Wimbledon experience than ever before. TechRadar reports.

The most exciting is the Seer Android Beta, which uses augmented reality to give users of a T-Mobile G1 the inside scoop on what's happening in the tournament.

Using a video feed from the handset's camera, combined with the digital compass and accurate GPS, users can hold up the phone to different objects and information will display on the screen.

By adding in information such as scores and updates on a heads up display, the user can simply point the phone at a tennis court, find out the court number and also who's playing and more crucially, who's winning.

The information comes from 'net data and IBM scouts wandering around the grounds providing updates.

Read full article.

Flickr and Getty Images buy your photos

According to The Telegraph, Photo-sharing website Flickr has teamed up with Getty Images to let users sell their pictures.

Over the past 12 months, Getty has had 30 art directors scouring Flickr’s archive of three billion images to find the ones that will “sell” and have commercial appeal.

So far, the team has identified 100,000 images it would like to add to the “Getty Flickr” collection, which can be accessed by consumers and customers alike via www.gettyimages.com/flickr. There is also a supportive Facebook application called “PictureMe”. This allows Facebook users to attach photos from the collection to their status updates to help them visually express their mood.

The collection contains only 20,000 images at the moment, as the team is still waiting to hear back from the photographers responsible for the other 80,000 cherry-picked photos, or for rights clearance. Flickr users can “opt in” to have their photos considered by the Getty art directors by clicking on a designated tab once logged into their accounts.

Griffin Clarifi: Macro Lens for the iPhone

For those either stuck with ridiculous two-year AT&T contracts or just not ready to leap on the 3G S bandwagon, there are ways to make your old (aka "year old") 3G a little more S, starting with the Clarifi from Griffin.

By adding another lens to the 3G's camera, Griffin overcomes the lack of a "macro" mode and enables shooting images at close range.

[via CoolHunting]

FaceFighter lets you take a photo of someone, then beat them up

Quoting from the FaceFighter app page: "Give your foe black eyes, a busted nose and swollen lips and laugh at their expressions as you beat the crap out of them".

Inciting violence is not a criteria for being rejected from the app store? This one should have been thrown out. Awful!

Ad for New Apple iPhone Plays Up Video

The ability to shoot video is a key selling point for Apple’s iPhone 3GS, a point underscored in a new ad for the phone. [via BrandWeek]

Apple announced the phone today. The company claims it is two- to three-times faster than current iPhones. A TV spot from set to break next week doesn’t talk about the speed, but instead plays up the phone’s ability to shoot digital video.

The ad features the iPhone in a museum-like holder. A man dressed like a cat burglar drops a camera from the ceiling to get a better look at the phone. “I think it’s the same,” he whispers. Then the camera cuts to an employee entering the room after swiping his security card. The employee picks up the phone and then taps the screen, which shows video of the cat burglar’s camera. The man then looks up to the ceiling.

Voiceover: “It’s the iPhone you love. Now with video.”

Postino iPhone app

Postino app creates a postcard from your photos, mails it for you and let's you track it.

How it works:

-- Snap a new photo, or pick one from the library.
-- Photo can be zoomed and positioned accurately.
-- Many built-in beautiful frames.
-- Draw a signature, message or picture with your finger.
-- Optionally include your GPS location in the postcard.
-- Easily check the delivery status of your postcards.

Apple's new iPhone set to heat up phone war

Photos purporting to show the new iPhone were leaked on the internet over the weekend. The handset is expected to have a 3.2-megapixel camera, compared with the current 2-megapixel camera, a built-in compass and rubber-tread backing. Other photos show the device has a front-facing video camera to allow customers to engage in two-way video conversations.

[via The Telegraph]

Researchers Use Cameraphones to Help Develop Mars Imaging Software

Scientists working with the Mars Society have been walking around the Utah desert in spacesuits, snapping photos of the ground in an attempt to develop image recognition software for use on the Red Planet. Gizmodo reports.

New Scientist says these researchers are attempting to develop software which can take an image of Mars' terrain, and identify any geological structures which might house organic matter. The software hopes to accomplish this by analyzing the color properties of images, breaking down the color, hue and intensity, and pointing out anything that seems irregular in comparison to its surroundings.

All the image processing is done on a computer, which receives the cameraphone images via laptop. The Mars Society says they don't expect cameraphones to be the weapon of choice in space. As for the locale, the Utah desert was picked as a locale, because like Mars, it's extremely dusty.

Samsung's 12-megapixel camera phone

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., today reinforced its leadership in the high megapixel cameraphone market by unveiling Samsung Pixon12 (M8910), the world’s first 12-megapixel camera phone with full-touch screen.

YTN News Chanel