Macgasm

Recently, Freetalk® has come out with a new webcam that broadcasts and records in HD. The Everyman HD is made to work flawlessly with Skype and is also Skype certified. You can use this webcam either on your monitor or sitting on a table. The quality is breathtaking at 720p at 22 fps (frames per second). While the Skype website says that Mac users will only get VGA output from the Everyman HD, I was able to get the full HD with no problems. Surprisingly, with the reports that the cam was only VGA on Mac, I had to do nothing to get HD results. The webcam also has built in auto focus; this is nice if you are trying to show something off or you want to be crystal clear from either a distance or up close. The device is compact and will pack almost flat, making it easy to throw into your laptop bag and go. I actually recorded a video using the Everyman HD cam and it worked great. However, since this records HD footage, file sizes can become an issue really quickly.

• Product dimensions (W x D x H): 70 x 65 x 29 mm

• Connectivity:
  • Interfacing: USB 2.0
  • Cable length: 180 cm
  • Power: supplied via USB cable – 5V

• Lens:
  • Focus: autofocus
  • Depth of focus: 50 mm ~ infinity
  • Field of vision: 58° diagonal angle of view in HD, 52° diagonal in 4:3 resolutions

• Sensor:
  • SNR: 39dB
  • Dynamic range: > 69dB
  • Pixel size: 3 x 3 µm
  • Image area: 1280 x 800
  • Sensitivity: 3.3 V/(lux*s)

• Video format:
  • Resolutions: 1280 x 720, also supports smaller resolutions like 640×480, 320×240 and 160×120. Skype uses lower resolutions in case of degraded network or when low-performance hardware is used on either end of the video call.
  • Frame rate:standard definition: 30fps, HD 22.5fps, low light 15fps. Skype may reduce frame rate in case of bad network conditions or high CPU usage on either end.
  • Colour depth: 8-bit
  • Video formats: H.264, YUV2 – Skype automatically switches between the two to grant best video call quality in the given circumstances.

I really think this is a great webcam. It is hard to find any flaws with it. However, there are a couple of flaws — the Everyman HD does not have a built in microphone. This is really unfortunate, especially if you are wanting to use the webcam to record a video. The lack of the microphone along with the lag that comes with recording HD makes for audio that doesn’t sync up properly. Luckily, if you are on a Mac, you should have iMovie or Finalcut and can get the audio back inline.

I definitely recommend the Freetalk® Everyman HD webcam. Great quality, plug n’ play and compact. The price for this great device is $59.50 and available only through Skype. If you’re interested in more information visit Skype.com.

The application doubleTwist has been out for a while and we have covered it pretty well. Joshua Schnell wrote an article about doubleTwist, and I also did a screencast back in November of 2009. Some changes have happened with the desktop app though. Over the last few months doubleTwist has added the ability to subscribe to podcasts and now Android users can browse the Android market place from the desktop application.

Most recently though, doubleTwist has enabled their Android application to act as a media player. When the Android app first came out, it really offered no user experience. The application was designed to make syncing your Android device easier by automatically mounting the device upon connection to your computer. However, with the latest update this has changed. doubleTwist for Android now has the ability to actually play music, podcasts, playlists, and videos. This is a huge improvement from the original application. Normally this application is priced at $.99, but is currently free for a short time. So if you have an Android device, you may want to check out this app, especially if you use the doubleTwist desktop application currently.

Scan the QR-Code  to download doubleTwist for Android with your Android device.

More Information:

Cult of Mac

DroidGawk

Business Insider is reporting that a trusted source has confirmed that Apple will be integrating Facebook contact sync into the next iPhone OS. This will be announced at WWDC this June. The current iPhone Facebook app imports contact information from Facebook into the address book for those contacts that are already in the address book. The rumoured iPhone-facebook integration will instead import contact information for everyone you have on Facebook, regardless of whether or not they are already in your address book. However, this could lead to quite the mess for your address book. Many people have started using Facebook as just another Myspace by adding and approving anyone they see.

We could also see more sharing features pop up if this is, in fact, true. Where currently, when you want to share a photo, you don’t have many options, you could soon see a “Share to Facebook” option on that screen

HTC has been doing Facebook contact sync with their Sense UI and it may actually be present on all Android phones. This could be interesting for the recent countersuit by HTC against Apple over all the patent claims.

More Information: Business Insider

It was only a matter of time before Borders decided to jump on the eBook reader bandwagon. It is surprising that it didn’t happen earlier though. The Kobo eReader will be available this summer, on June 17th, for $149. Yes, that’s right: $149. It is obvious Borders is planning on trying to take over the Kindle and Nook market. The design of the device is pretty similar to the Kindle and Nook as well, other than a huge blue D-pad. Otherwise the device would look pretty sexy. The interface of the Kobo is promising, however; it resembles Delicious Library and the iBooks app.

The Kobo eReader has 1GB of built in memory. Battery life is very similar to other eBook devices. It will also come pre-loaded with 100 classic titles. This will be a huge selling point for many people to get as a gift for some one. Just think, being able to use the device instantly when you get it. Borders is also going to have apps for several platforms including desktop apps, iPhone, and iPad with possibly more apps to come later. This is definitely a device to keep an eye on, and a great gift idea for someone for whom you may not know what to get.

Article Via TUAW

Ok, so maybe not quite around the corner. As usual, in just 4 months (based on the yearly turnaround in the past) we will be getting the next generation iPod announcement. One has to wonder what exactly will happen with this year’s announcements.

Last year many were caught off guard by the iPod Nano having a video camera and the iPod Touch getting passed up for one. This year I believe we will finally see the iPod Touch getting a huge upgrade. Maybe even an entire larger format to make an actual iPad Mini. I think we will see a camera in this model and even have a 3G version with GPS to work with the AT&T data plan like the iPad.

The Nano was kind of disappointing to some because it only had video capabilities, and this year I think we will actually see support to take still pictures.

Of course size is always an issue, though I believe the Touch will probably stay where it is at, I think the nano will go 16GB and 32GB versions.

The iPod Classic will probably get a slight update storage wise, but that will likely be the extent of it. That is if Apple even keeps the classic around much longer.

My biggest hope is that apple announces a new version of the Apple TV. It is time for an upgrade and there are so many ways to make the device even better than it already is currently.

Finally, some rumors are already spreading that we will see the iPad get a version with a built in camera. While I don’t agree with this, it is very possible. I think Apple will hold off until February before they announce any kind of update to the iPad.

What are you guys hearing around the grape vine?  We’d love to know.

Recently, the founder of Posterous wrote up an article positing that the finder is dead. He believes that files, folders and documents will cease to exist on a computer. Needless to say, it was an interesting read. That said, I disagree with the concept.

Sure, we are moving further away from actually using the “Finder” or taking full advantage of file systems. Our phones work almost completely off of apps, but can we really live with out them? When it comes to an actual computer, I like to have my files where I need them. Sure,there are tools that help me organize my files like iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie and more. There is even iDocuments which I did a screencast on in a recent macgasm video cast, but the files still need to exist. We can’t trust every thing in the cloud, and most people aren’t going to want their files archived and to be only accessible through certain apps.

If we want to dig deeper, we have to look at the apps that we would use as well. First, all file formats would have to be able to work across all applications. Can you imagine the pain of writing a paper in one app, then finding a new app that is better and having to actually make a whole new copy of that? Lets take photos for example if that doesn’t click. Lets say you use iPhoto to import your photos from your camera, but you want to use the Photoshop app that doesn’t allow you to import directly from the camera to do some hardcore editing. What if it wont read the format of the pictures you just imported and the only way to get them to read is by exporting those photos to the other app and taking up even more space on your hard drive? It just doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Sure, there would be some app that we could use to make things make more sense, but do we really need to live in an app ran world outside of our iPhones, iPod touch, and other cell phones? I think not.

More Information: Is finder dead?

Photo Credit: Ambient Damage

People are excited about the iPad. There is no question about that, but are we going to see more app rejections because of this? Apple has policies that don’t quite make sense to the outside world. We can’t get replacement mail apps or replacement SMS apps for the iPhone. We don’t get the Google Voice app because it duplicates iPhone functionality. So, what will the new trend be for the iPad?

The iPad is being promoted as the ultimate eBook reader. Apple is launching their own iBook Store, so does that mean that all of the books that are currently in the app store will be removed? What about Readers like Stanza or, more importantly, Amazon’s own Kindle app? Apple is going after the eBook market aggressively, so it seems like a logical extension that Apple would want to eliminate their competition.

Sadly, if Apple were to reject apps like Kindle, Stanza, and Classics, this would ruin the iPad for a portion of the potential user base — even myself. I am currently planning on purchasing an iPad. As a Kindle user, all of my books are in the Kindle format. If I lost access to my library of eBooks, I would be less than pleased. We are still a few weeks away from the launch of the iPad, so let’s hope that Apple doesn’t try to assassinate the competition.

I am a huge fan of the apple tv. Though most people tend to dislike it for it being locked down. Sadly though, apple treats this product like a red headed step child. There is a huge lack of software updates to the device, and it has been over two years since a hardware update. But according to a newly approved apple patent, the apple tv is not dead yet.

While the patent itself doesn’t provide a ton of info like some other patents we have seen, it does look like it is possible that the new version may be an actual HDTV. A majority of the focus looks to be on the IR Remote system and new abilities for it to work.

I personally would like to see apple allow an external Hard drive to be used to store media alongside the apple TV. For some one like myself, 160 GB is not enough room for my iTunes movies. Especially since when I do purchase a DVD or Blu-ray disc it has a digital copy. If apple does go the route of an actual HDTV, they will have to be more open with it. If they run it as a closed system and don’t allow people to connect their cable or an antenna to the tv, they will be killing their own product.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this story. Maybe we will see a new apple tv by September when they announce the new line of iPods.

More Information: Apple Granted Patent for Next Generation Apple TV Technology