Photosynth: Visually Tagging The World

Amazing Demonstration of Photosynth by Blaise Aguera y Arcas.



Photosynth Website.

Aviary gearing up for multimedia production splendor

Worth1000's totally unexpected and tantalizing raft of webapps (yes, I'm waiting for an invite), Aviary, has so many plans you will shake your head in disbelief. If you haven't heard yet, the applications will include:

• Phoenix: Image editor.
• Toucan: A swatch generator tool and community in one.
• Peacock: A pattern generator tool and community in one.
• Raven: Vector editor.
• Hummingbird: 3D modeller.
• Myna: Audio editor.
• Roc: Music generator.
• Hawk: Video editor.
• Owl: Desktop publishing tool.
• Penguin: Word processor (geared towards poets and writers).
• Pigeon: Painting simulator.
• Rookery: A free, unlimited distributed file system network that anyone can connect to and store data in. It also powers our search engine.
• Eagle: A smart online application that can identify complex data about an image based on the pixel patterns (for example it can identify which specific camera an image originaly came from and whether it has been edited or not).
• Crane: Custom image product creator, that can integrate with other websites.

Sounds too good, and too robust, to be true, yes? But all signs so far point to a polished set of apps, not least of which is a sample 3D rendering they posted to their blog today.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping that Aviary is one of those rare examples of a fresh idea totally changing the software landscape - in this case, developing web applications with extremely narrow functionality to eliminate bloat, streamline uptake, and provide a service in a way people didn't know they needed until they found it, and later will not be able to imagine doing without. Time will tell. [Via Plime]

Firefox Emissions Plug-In Measures The Global Cost of Your Travel

Real Costs "is a Firefox plug-in that inserts emissions data into travel related e-commerce website. The first version adds CO2 emissions information to airfare websites such as Orbitz.com, United.com, Delta.com, etc. Following versions will work with car directions, car rental, and shipping websites. Think of it like the nutritional information labeling on the back of food... except for emissions."

Download it here. [Via]

Shearing the Sheep

Juice Analytics has posted a nice presentation on business intelligence. The visual style clearly contributes to their message that they offer a "breath of fresh air" in the community they serve.

Savvy presentation designers use Flickr, Morguefile, or other image-sharing sites, not images from Microsoft clip-art, for fresh imagery that speaks volumes. I like their crediting policy, too - the credit goes on the slide, not in the notes. Just use Creative Commons-licensed photos tagged for commercial use and you're good to go. [Link|Download PDF]

Flickr Now Supporting Once-Ostracized Illustrators, Screenshot Uploaders

Flickr's wavering policies in the past regarding using Flickr as an illustration portfolio or to show off screen captures of software has been to restrict user accounts and block their images from being included in search functions. When some users responded negatively to these moves, others stepped in and aggressively defended Flickr's status as "for photos only." Flickr fumbled around for a while, sending some pretty mixed signals.

The "photo-sharing" site has finally come around to accept that new user bases are not a bad thing, and is now supporting search filtering for both of those robust types of content, which people have been putting up for years.

Good for Flickr.

[Via|Link]

ASLC Educational Software of the Year

The American Library Association's goon squad, otherwise known as the Association for Library Services for Children, has released their list of the year's best (last year's best?) software for kids. Get your little friends hooked here.