Olympus TG-850 Winner

So the winner has been chosen. Both myself and the Olympus UK team went through all the amazing #TG850MAY photo entries and unanimously agreed on the winner. The theme for May was to post 'action' or 'tough' themed photos and this one from Joseph Choi really captured so much action in the boy doing an awesome flip. The emotion in the face is epic too. Congratulations go out to Joseph who has won an Olympus Stylus Tough TG-850 camera. Thank you to everyone else who took part, keep checking back for more photography competitions coming soon. 

@pauljyyang

jchoi717's photo on Instagram

Facebook launches photo comments

Facebook is now letting its 1.11 billion members react to their friends' status updates with photo comments.

The social network said Wednesday that it has started the global release of the new feature, which lets people add photos to comment threads using a new Attach a Photo button. To start, uploads of photo comments will be restricted to the Facebook Web site and mobile site, but simply viewing photo comments will be possible from Facebook's mobile applications, the company said.

Photo comments are a product of one of Facebook's famous hackathons. Facebook engineer Bob Baldwin, one of the developers behind the release, said he was inspired to create the photo comments feature because, "sometimes showing a photo helps me tell a story much better than words alone."

The new addition could transform the social network into a more meme and teen-friendly zone, as photos turn commenting into a more playful activity. Of course, there's also the potential for spam, abuse, and just plain ugly comment threads. But imaginer Baldwin wishes for the best. "I hope this will make threads with friends more expressive and engaging," he said.

Source: CNET

 

Google Surfaces your Photos in Search

Looking for a picture you took at your sister's bridal shower? Google's search engine will now help you find it -- so long as you've posted the shot to the company's companion social network.

The company announced Thursday that Google+ members can log in to Google.com and search for their own photos or query for a buddy's pictures stored on the social network. Just plug in queries such as "my photos from Vegas" or "Angie's wedding photos" and Google will scour through Google+ photo albums and return matching images on the search results page...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

Instagram responds to user concerns, adjusts new Terms of Service to allay fears

Were you among the many put off or freaked out by Instagram's changes to its Terms of Service announced yesterday? You're not alone, as many informed the Facebook photo sharing platform that they weren't pleased by the new language -- they mistook it as a means for their photos to be monetized in unscrupulous ways. Good news is, Instagram heard these complaints and has responded, explaining the changes and pledging to nix parts that caused unnecessary confusion.

In a blog post today, co-founder Kevin Systrom made clear that the ToS tweaks were meant to inform Instagrammers that the company wants "to experiment with innovative advertising." What kind of advertising? Say a company wants more folks following its Instagram account. According to Systrom, the changes allow Instagram to see which of the people you follow also follow that business and can use that information to better promote said company.

Basically, the changes were made so Instagram can find ways to increase ad revenue without spoiling the UX with banner ads, but the service still retains the rights to use your information in ads -- and yes, even users under 18 are included. Additionally, Systrom made clear that users own their content and Instagram will not be selling user photos to advertisers. And, he has pledged that updated language to that effect is in the works. Still uneasy about using Instagram for your filtered photography needs? Head on over to the source for the full explanation straight from Systrom himself.

[Source: Engadget]

Instagram 3's new Photo Maps feature adds location to your photo stories

 

Instagram 3.0, the free photo sharing app for iPhone, is available and provides a number of enhancements. The most impressive is the new Photo Maps feature.

By grabbing geolocation information that is saved with each photo, Instagram creates a world map of your images by location. As you zoom in on each location, say Florida for example, you see locations in that state, then in each city.

You can add new photos to your Photo Maps through the new photo upload screen, which features a prominent Add to your Photo Maps button. Instagram has also increased the length of the captions you can add to each photo, and provides a way to name a location.

[Source: TUAW]

Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels

iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.

The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video comparing the two parts, showing that not only is the new part taller than the corresponding iPhone 4S part but it is also 0.1 mm thinner and offers more light transmittance and more scratch resistance than its counterpart.

ETrade Supply has also taken a close look at the home button region of the front panel, showing that the hole for the home button is 0.3 mm smaller in diameter than the hole on the iPhone 4S, while the margin between the bottom of the panel and the bottom of the display area is 2.6 mm shorter, allowing Apple to significantly increase the size of the iPhone's display while only slightly increasing the overall device height.

This is not the first time the alleged next-generation iPhone front panel has been caught on video, but this new video and photo comparison does offer the most detailed comparison between the part and the corresponding iPhone 4S part we have seen yet.

[Source: MacRumors]

Blinq Photo will save and share your images

Blinq Photo lets you access, share and edit photos on a home computer remotely. Its purpose is to provide users with a free solution for creating and sharing photos and albums. I found it to be simple and effective and requires very little fuss.

Let me walk you through the process of getting Blinq Photo set up:

  1. Install Blinq Photo on your Mac. It's free in the Mac App Store.
  2. Create an account.
  3. Watch as Blinq Photo scans your iPhoto and/or Aperture Libraries, tagging each photo and album with a unique URL.

Next, install the iOS app and log into your account. You'll see the albums and photos on your home computer (via Wi-Fi or 3G) as long as the host Mac is running and has an active Internet connection. From there you can share a photo or album via email, Facebook or TwitPic, order prints or save an image to your Camera Roll. Once you have the photo on your iPhone or iPad, you can edit it or modify it with any photo editor you have.

[Source: TUAW - Read the full story here]