Still from Soviet Montage's HDR video Finally a better use for two cameras than producing 3D movies. You may have heard of HDR ( High Dynamic Range ) photography before, but if you haven’t, it’s basically a technique that combines two or more photos of the same scene, taken with different exposures. An overexposed shot brings out the shadows and an underexposed shot leaves some detail in the highlights. The shots are combined in software to produce the final image, which can often look slightly unreal . The technique has been around for a few years now, at first for the pros only, but then you could get “ an app for that “, and now the latest version of the iPhone 4’s operating system bakes the HDR shooting right into the camera software, so it won’t be long before it’s everywhere. Now a company called Soviet Montage Productions has developed a way of producing the HDR effect for video. They use a custom built rig including a beam splitter to send the video image to two Canon 5D Mark II DSLR cameras, one underexposing by -2e/v and the other overexposing by 2e/v, and the resulting videos are combined in post production to give the slightly erie effect shown in the video below. There’s a great debate going on in the comments of their site as to the merits of the technique, but we’ll leave you to make up your own mind on that. (via @felicaday !) Read the rest of this entry »

Still from Soviet Montage's HDR video Finally a better use for two cameras than producing 3D movies. You may have heard of HDR ( High Dynamic Range ) photography before, but if you haven’t, it’s basically a technique that combines two or more photos of the same scene, taken with different exposures. An overexposed shot brings out the shadows and an underexposed shot leaves some detail in the highlights. The shots are combined in software to produce the final image, which can often look slightly unreal . The technique has been around for a few years now, at first for the pros only, but then you could get “ an app for that “, and now the latest version of the iPhone 4’s operating system bakes the HDR shooting right into the camera software, so it won’t be long before it’s everywhere. Now a company called Soviet Montage Productions has developed a way of producing the HDR effect for video. They use a custom built rig including a beam splitter to send the video image to two Canon 5D Mark II DSLR cameras, one underexposing by -2e/v and the other overexposing by 2e/v, and the resulting videos are combined in post production to give the slightly erie effect shown in the video below. There’s a great debate going on in the comments of their site as to the merits of the technique, but we’ll leave you to make up your own mind on that. (via @felicaday !) Read the rest of this entry »

Photojojo’s Camera Strap Buddy is an almost ridiculously simple widget that could change the way you carry your camera. Nothing more than a small metal bracket and a tripod-screw, the Buddy lets you use your existing camera strap but makes carrying the camera a lot more comfortable. The usual neck-strap is possibly the worst way to carry a camera. If anything heavier than a pocket-camera around my neck, it starts to get uncomfortable, fast. Use a longer strap and sling it across your chest like a messenger-bag and things get better, but bigger cameras can be bouncy, and knock against your hip. The Camera Strap Buddy lets you run a strap from one of the regular strap brackets to the bottom of the camera. When slung bandolier-style, even a heavy camera sits comfortably at your side, and is kept out of your way but ready for a quick grab-shot. I haven’t tested Photojojo’s adapter, but I have tried others and it’s possible to carry something like Nikon’s hefty D700 around all day and still be comfortable. Could you make your own? Indubitably, but why bother? The Camera Strap Buddy is just $15. Just make sure you screw it in tight. > > View all Camera Strap Buddy [Photojojo] See Also: DIY Camera Hand-Straps From Photojojo Buckle Up! Seat-Belt Camera Straps Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

With a blast from a heat gun and a quick twist of a plastic spudger, the iFixit team found themselves inside the new, slim iPod Touch. First, the question you’re all asking: how much RAM does it have? The new Touch has just 256MB, the same as the iPad and half that of the iPhone’s 512MB. That means a lot less can be held in memory at once, which in turn means that any apps running in the background will wink out of life much quicker. The super-slim body is the reason the Touch has such a crappy camera: the iPhone’s 5MP cam is just too big to fit. There are some additions to the case, though: the Touch now has a real speaker-grill, presumably to make FaceTime calling possible, and it loses the little plastic RF window on the back which used to let the Wi-Fi in and out. Now the antenna is near the glass panel. The vibrator, which was revealed in FCC photographs and also pimped as a FaceTime alert on Apple’s own site, has disappeared like an out-of-favor politician from a Stalin-era photo . My guess is that it was pulled to keep the price down to $229 in the base model. The other big change is of course the retina-display, which quadruples the number of pixels on the screen. Right now it is unknown whether it shares IPS (in-plane-switching) tech with the other iDevices and recent iMacs. IPS is what gives a screen an almost 180-degree viewing-angle. It looks like Apple has squeezed a lot inside, while simultaneously boosting battery-life and making the sliver of a iPod even thinner. I have a perfectly good last-gen Touch but, dammit, now I want one of these. iPod Touch 4th Generation Teardown [iFixit] See Also: Photos: iFixit Rips Open iPad 3G Punked: iFixit Tears Down 'Apple Tablet' Exclusive Gallery: 1983 Nintendo Family Computer Teardown iPod Shuffle Gets Naked, And It Wasn't Easy Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

> > View all The guys behind the new modulR line of iPad cases have a clever idea: Let one case take on multiple identities through a variety of add-ons. The basic case is a hard plastic shell that protects the iPad in use. Its rubberized edges grip the tablet securely, while little “nubs” on the back give your hand something more to grip onto than the iPad’s normally slick exterior. They also help raise the device off the table so it’s a little easier to pick up. When traveling, you can clip on a hard plastic face plate that protects the iPad’s screen. At your desk? Slide the case into an L-shaped metal bracket, which has slots that the case’s rear nubs lock into. Those same slots appear on modulR ’s “slim case,” which lets you mount your iPad on the wall — or, with the addition of a handful of powerful neodymium magnets, a refrigerator. In fact, this is the first refrigerator mount we’ve seen for the iPad in the Gadget Lab. It works with most old-school fridges, but if you’ve got a fancier wood-paneled or stainless steel refrigerator, you’re out of luck. (Stainless steel isn’t magnetic.) We used it to display our favorite websites and recent tweets on the face of Beer Robot, our office kegerator . You might be nervous about the effect of those powerful magnets on the iPad’s internals. While modulR couldn’t offer us a blanket assurance, they did say that they expected no problems — and we saw none during our tests. Perhaps if the iPad had a spinning disk inside instead of solid state storage, the proximity of magnets might be a bigger problem. One down side is weight. The case is substantial, which provides protection, but it also adds 5.8 ounces to the iPad’s weight (10.2 ounces with the cover on). That may not sound like much, but it’s a noticeable addition to a gadget that weighs just 1.5 pounds to begin with. The other is price: modulR sells a bundle that includes the case, cover, stand, and the slim mount for $100. The case and cover alone are $60. Still, it’s a substantial, solid case and the only one we know of that allows fridge mounting. If that’s what you’re looking for, the modulR case is a good choice. modulR iPad Case (product website) Photos: Jon Snyder / Wired.com Follow us for real-time tech news: Dylan Tweney and Gadget Lab on Twitter. See Also: Moleskine-Shaped, Bamboo iPad Case Quirky's iPad Case With Two-Way Kick-Stand The Case: Another Beautiful Moleskine-Like iPad Case Combination-Lock iPad Case is Almost Pointless How-To Make a Waterproof, Kitchen-Proof iPad Case and Stand … Read the rest of this entry »

> > View all The guys behind the new modulR line of iPad cases have a clever idea: Let one case take on multiple identities through a variety of add-ons. The basic case is a hard plastic shell that protects the iPad in use. Its rubberized edges grip the tablet securely, while little “nubs” on the back give your hand something more to grip onto than the iPad’s normally slick exterior. They also help raise the device off the table so it’s a little easier to pick up. When traveling, you can clip on a hard plastic face plate that protects the iPad’s screen. At your desk? Slide the case into an L-shaped metal bracket, which has slots that the case’s rear nubs lock into. Those same slots appear on modulR ’s “slim case,” which lets you mount your iPad on the wall — or, with the addition of a handful of powerful neodymium magnets, a refrigerator. In fact, this is the first refrigerator mount we’ve seen for the iPad in the Gadget Lab. It works with most old-school fridges, but if you’ve got a fancier wood-paneled or stainless steel refrigerator, you’re out of luck. (Stainless steel isn’t magnetic.) We used it to display our favorite websites and recent tweets on the face of Beer Robot, our office kegerator . You might be nervous about the effect of those powerful magnets on the iPad’s internals. While modulR couldn’t offer us a blanket assurance, they did say that they expected no problems — and we saw none during our tests. Perhaps if the iPad had a spinning disk inside instead of solid state storage, the proximity of magnets might be a bigger problem. One down side is weight. The case is substantial, which provides protection, but it also adds 5.8 ounces to the iPad’s weight (10.2 ounces with the cover on). That may not sound like much, but it’s a noticeable addition to a gadget that weighs just 1.5 pounds to begin with. The other is price: modulR sells a bundle that includes the case, cover, stand, and the slim mount for $100. The case and cover alone are $60. Still, it’s a substantial, solid case and the only one we know of that allows fridge mounting. If that’s what you’re looking for, the modulR case is a good choice. modulR iPad Case (product website) Photos: Jon Snyder / Wired.com Follow us for real-time tech news: Dylan Tweney and Gadget Lab on Twitter. See Also: Moleskine-Shaped, Bamboo iPad Case Quirky's iPad Case With Two-Way Kick-Stand The Case: Another Beautiful Moleskine-Like iPad Case Combination-Lock iPad Case is Almost Pointless How-To Make a Waterproof, Kitchen-Proof iPad Case and Stand … Read the rest of this entry »

Credit: Eliot Phillips (Community Commons) Have you ever noticed certain cocktails are perfect for specific geeky pursuits? Whether it’s a special kind of ‘tini for tinkering or a hearty grog for saluting an awesome rocket launch, we (non-teetotaler) adults appreciate a cocktail that complements our hobbies. Here are some examples to sample over this long weekend as you pursue whatever it is that makes your geeky heart happy: Sissy Klingon Activity: Good for softening the blow of ‘The Undiscovered Country.’ If you can’t handle real Blood Wine, pataQ, try this one out. Strong, sweet and sophisticated, just like Worf circa TNG, when he couldn’t win a fight to save his life. 1 shot Flor de Caña rum 1/2 shot Raspberry Pucker 1/2 shot Bombay Sapphire gin Cherry Bomb Jolt Instructions: Mix the booze together in a shaker and pour over ice. Add the Jolt to taste. Neon Geek ( Matt Blum ) Activity: Good for drinking with action shows/movies. 1/2 oz Mountain Dew, Sprite, or 7-Up 1/2 oz Bourbon 1 oz Cinnamon Schnapps (Sodas are listed in order of preference.) Mix together with ice, then pour into a margarita glass. Garnish with mint. Green Acres Punch Activity: Great for relaxing after (not before!) some heavy-duty carpentry. 2 oz. Flor de Caña 4-year old 1oz. Flor de Caña 18-year old 0.75 oz. rich demerara simple syrup* 1 oz. lime juice 6 oz. HOT STRONG Green Tea 1 mint sprig Instructions: All of the ingredients should be combined and left in a container overnight. Strain the next day, then refrigerate and drink at your leisure. Pour the punch into a glass and garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig. *Demerara syrup can be made in a pot over low heat on stove top. 2 parts demerara sugar to 1 part water. Heat and stir until dissolved. Romulan Ale Activity: Drink while rewatching TNG episodes. 1 1/2 oz White rum 1 oz Blue Curacao 7-Up 6 drops Tabasco sauce Instructions: Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a tall, narrow glass. Add a grain of salt. (Via webtender.com ) Sazerac Cocktail ( Bill Gurstelle ) Activity: Sipping while sitting in a leather easy chair reading Douglas Adams’ ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide.’ In 2008 the Louisiana House of Representatives voted to make the Sazerac the official cocktail of New Orleans. It’s a great mix of flavors and packs a kick. A favorite with those who understand the art of living dangerously . 1/2 cup ice cubes 1 sugar cube 3 dashes Bitters 2 ounces rye Jim Beam or Old Overholt RYE (not bourbon) whiskey 1/2 teaspoon of absinthe Lemon twist Chill an old-fashioned glass by filling it with ice and water. In second old-fashioned glass, mix together sugar, bitters, and 1/2 teaspoon water thoroughly. Add cognac or whiskey and remaining 1/2 cup ice, and stir well, at least 15 seconds. Take the chilled glass, discard ice and water and pour in absinthe. Swirl it around so the absinthe coats the interior of the glass. Add rye whiskey mixture into the chilled, absinthe-coated glass. Add lemon peel and enjoy. The Princess Leia Activity: Writing yourself into your favorite fanfic. Classy yet strong, just like its namesake. The acai-flavored VeeV adds a little tang to your ‘pagne while the gin supplies the kick. 1/2 shot Bombay Sapphire gin 1/2 shot VeeV Acai liquor Champagne In a champagne flute, add the VeeV and Sapphire, stir, then top off glass with your sparkling wine or champagne of choice. Sapphire Collins Activity: Harvesting parts from a busted piece of consumer electronics. 2 parts Bombay Sapphire Gin 1 part fresh lemon juice 3/4 part simple syrup Club soda Instructions: Pour first three ingredients into a Collins glass with ice and stir well. Add more ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge. Royal Tea (Royalty) ( Curtis Silver ) Activity: I like to drink while using the Adobe Creative Suite to edit videos and pictures of my kids. Arizona Iced Tea (original with lemon) Crown Royal Fresh lemons Fill 16oz cup up with ice to brim, then iced tea to three quarters cup. Fill in rest with Crown Royal. Cut a lemon in half. Squeeze one into the cup and discard. Take the other half and cut it into fours. Put that right into the drink (via Don Martelli , Boston PR Madman.) Cherry Grog ( Michael Harrison ) Activity: Perfect for a night spent powerleveling your guildies through Deadmines (again) or roleplaying your way through the pirate city of Freeport. Splice the main brace, mateys; just don’t overdo it and pull a Leeroy Jenkins, ya lightweight. Collins glass (or a pewter beer stein, if you’re feeling saucy) Mountain Dew Game Fuel, Horde Red Light rum Lime juice Limes Instructions: Fill glass with cracked ice and drop a shot or two of spirits over the ice. Fill the rest up with the Game Fuel. Add a splash of juice and garnish with a wedge of lime The Mom Mellowing Cocktail ( Corrina Lawson ) Activity: It is best consumed after a long, exhausting day, to clear the mind. Two fingers of vodka with lemon flavor Any flavor of diet cola but Diet Coke with Lime works best. Add ice. This is your basic soda & hard liquor mixed drink but I drink it for two reasons: 1. I cannot drink vodka straight. 2. It is somewhat low calorie, with the use of diet soda. Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster ( Matt Blum ) Activity: Best to drink with the old HHGttG TV show or the decidedly-mediocre movie. There are multiple versions this legendary Hitchhikers Guide beverage. This one comes from webtender . 2 oz Vodka 1 oz Triple sec 1/2 oz Grenadine Pineapple juice 7-Up or Slice Instructions: Fill Collins glass with ice. Add 2 oz. of vodka and 1 oz. triple sec. Fill glass almost to the top with pineapple juice, add Grenadine for color, and top off the glass with 7-Up or Slice. Shake or stir until the drink turns a light orange-pink color. Humongor ( Curtis Silver ) Activity: All-night HALO benders. Bottle of Jonnie Walker Black or Red Liter of Mountain Dew One large sports cup Mix 50% Jonnie Walker (didn’t use the cheap stuff to avoid headaches) and 50% Mountain Dew, warm, in a large sports cup. CHUG. Photo: John Edgar Park The Ramos Gin Fizz Activity: This cocktail takes a lot of shaking to fix — great for combining with dice-shaking activities like D&D or Yahtzee! Ah. Born in 1887 to Henry Charles “Carl” Ramos. Not technically a cocktail, but a fizz. A morning-after drink for clearing the haze after you’ve had a few too many the night before. Downright delicious; a creamy, frothy, fragrant, lovely way to set things right again with the dawning day. 1 1/2 oz Old Tom Gin* 3/4 oz Cointreau 3/4 oz Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice 3/4 oz Fresh squeezed Lime Juice 3/4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream 1/2 oz simple Syrup (2:1) 1/2 an egg white (this drink is traditionally built for two, in which case, double the recipe and use the whole egg white) 2 oz Club Soda 3 drops Orange Flower Water Pour the citrus and egg white in a Boston Shaker with the spring from a Hawthorn strainer and dry shake for one minute. Keep ingredients in the tin and in the glass add the Gin, Cointreau, Cream, and Simple Syrup. Fill with ice reconnect with the tin and Shake for one minute. Strain into a large Highball glass (no ice,) top with Club soda, and garnish with Orange Flower Water. (Note: Learn more about the Ramos Gin Fizz on John Park’s website .) Lucid Frappe Activity: Great for moistening a parched throat after an invigorating soldering session. 1 oz. Lucid Absinthe 0.5 oz. of Simple Syrup 6-8 Fresh Mint Leaves 1 oz. of Soda Water Muddle mint leaves in the bottom of a frappe style glass. Add absinthe, simple syrup and fill with crushed ice. Pour mixture into shaker and shake vigorously. Pour contents into glass, top with splash of soda water and garnish with mint sprig. ………….. So, what are your favorite recipes? Leave a comment. [Note: This article was originally published in September of 2009.] Read the rest of this entry »

> A photo of a train making a stop. Standard version on top, HDR version on bottom. > View all A software update for Apple’s mobile operating system is due for release next week, and Wired.com has had hands-on time with a major new feature of the OS: high-dynamic range photography. HDR, an automated processing feature aiming to deliver a “dummy-proof” photography method, will be included with the camera app on all iPhones running iOS 4.1 when it ships next week . When you take a picture, HDR processes three versions of the image: an underexposed version, a normally exposed version, and an overexposed version. Then it combines these three images into one to increase the dynamic range (the intensity of the light) to give you a more accurate representation of the scene you’re shooting. In iOS 4.1, when you launch your camera there will be an option to toggle HDR on or off. When toggled on, the iPhone will take a few seconds to process a photo in HDR after snapping it. By default, your iPhone will save both a normal, unedited version of your photograph along with an HDR-processed version. (You can tweak the save mode in your settings.) I ventured outside with Wired.com photo editor Jon Snyder to put an iPhone 4 to the test with HDR photos, and the results were quite pleasing. At times some photos looked better without HDR-processing, but for the most part HDR improved images that were oversaturated with light or too dark with shadows. This feature should come in handy for people who don’t want to spend too much aiming their camera in just the right place to get good lighting. Click through the gallery above to see some side-by-side comparisons of photos we snapped Thursday afternoon in San Francisco. See Also: Apple Announces New Versions of iOS Live Blog: Apple’s iPod, Music Event Hands-On With New Apple iPods The iPhone 4 Takes Gorgeous Fireworks Photos and Videos Read the rest of this entry »

> > View all This is adorable: a tiny charcoal BBQ grill using an Altoids Sours tin, two metal computer fan guards, and some sheet metal screws for legs. It looks like it fits one regular-sized briquette. As one of the commentors notes, this is great for marshmallows, but you could also cook a shrimp at a time. Making it doesn’t require tools more sophisticated than a Dremel – no soldering, no nothing. Release the GeekDads. You could probably bang this thing out and be eating S’Mores before your neighbor’s charcoal grill is hot enough to cook. Instructables user Vmspionage’s mini-grill was inspired by the earlier eBQ, which uses a full-sized Altoids tin . He also writes that “the propane version is coming soon! ” Now we just need someone to make a MintyBoost-powered electric starter, and we’ll really have something cooking. Altoids Sours BBQ Grill [Instructables] via Makezine . See Also: DIY Friday: Charge Your iPhone With AAs or Solar Power 100 Essential Skills for Geeks (GeekDad Wayback Machine) Fire Up The Grill: GeekDad Field Tests A Trio Of Portables … Read the rest of this entry »

> > View all SAN FRANCISCO — When Steve Jobs was preparing to introduce the Apple TV, he called it “one more hobby,” and based on our first impressions, that’s a safe choice of words. Additional coverage of Apple’s event on Wired.com: A Remote Shipping Without A Screen Ships Broken Hands-On With New Apple iPods 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Is (Still) Boring Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV Sporty New iPods Tout Tiny Touchscreens, Retina Display Apple Announces New Versions of iOS Can You ‘Bip Bop’? Apple Wants to Know Live Blog: Apple’s iPod, Music Event Apple to Live Stream Press Conference — to Apple Customers Only The new Apple TV is a major hardware revamp — one quarter the size of its predecessor. It’s a small black box with curved edges, somewhat resembling a hockey puck. The highlights: It costs $100, and it integrates nearly instantly TV and movie rentals, along with Netflix streaming. The major limitation: For TV rentals, only two studios are on board to stream shows through the Apple TV — ABC and Fox. This isn’t an adequate replacement yet for cable subscriptions . So calling it a “hobby” was right — Apple’s starting out small, and maybe it’ll roll into something bigger if more studios warm up to the idea. I got some hands-on time with the new Apple TV and it is a promising start. TV and movie rentals are really snappy and fast. After choosing to rent a movie or show, the Apple TV takes a few seconds to prepare a buffer and begins streaming right away. Also particularly cool was internet integration. I enjoyed searching through Flickr streams. Select a photo and hit the Play button and it immediately plays a slideshow with music and fancy transitions. I’m too lazy to check my friends’ Flickr streams the normal way on Flickr.com, aren’t you? Plus, the photos look great on a big screen through the Apple TV’s HDMI connection. The Apple TV’s remote is familiar: It’s got the same aluminum and black design as the current MacBook Pros. It’s also very similar to the current Apple remote that controls Macs — only it’s a little longer and the buttons have small bumps for subtle tactile feedback. It feels great in the hand and navigating through the Apple TV menu was really smooth. As good as the idea sounds, you won’t be able to use your iPhone or iPad as a remote for the Apple TV (not yet, at least). Instead, there’s a feature called “AirPlay,” so if you’re using your iPad or iPhone to listen to music, look at photos or watch a video, you can tap an AirPlay button, select your Apple TV and boom — your content is streaming onto your Apple TV. We weren’t able to test that since this feature won’t be available until iOS 4.2 ships in November, but we’ll keep you posted. You can also stream media from your Mac’s iTunes library by choosing the “Computer” option and selecting a movie or playlist. I tested that out too, and it worked fine, but do note that iTunes only supports a few formats for video (.H264, for instance). So if you prefer getting media through some alternative non-iTunes-compatible means, you’re still going to be doing a lot of file conversion before you can watch your videos on the Apple TV. All in all, it’s a cool device, and for $100 it’s going to pose a serious threat to the Roku Netflix player. But as a TV replacement, it’s still not there yet. Maybe later. See Also: Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV Live Blog: Apple’s iPod, Music Event Apple to Live Stream Press Conference — to Apple Customers Only Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read the rest of this entry »