Apple’s iPhone 4 can serve as a great little camcorder when you’re in a bind, but it’s never been our go-to cam for video shoots. Not only is its small sensor not best suited for high-quality HD shooting, but the smartphone form factor can be awkward to hold, resulting in shakier than normal footage. A new app called DollyCam, which also supports iPad 2, helps soften the blow of the latter, letting you successfully stabilize videos — with a few drawbacks.

We took our iPhone 4 out to test a watermarked free version of the app in New York City, shooting a scene first with the phone’s native app, and then with DollyCam. It won’t replace a hardware solution like the Steadicam Smoothee, but it’s significantly cheaper and more convenient. The only major issues we noticed were related to softened sound capture of all things (pay close attention in the video past the break), and the fact that the app can’t process in real-time, so a minute-long video clip will need about five minutes to process. The app does crop your footage slightly, as can be expected. You’ll also need to remain in the app as it’s processing, though you can also stabilize videos later, after completing your shoot. Overall, it’s an acceptable solution, especially considering the .99 price tag. Jump past the break to see original and stabilized clips, and browse through the gallery below for a quick look at the interface.

[Thanks, Jon]

Continue reading DollyCam app lets you stabilize iPhone 4 videos, we go hands-on (video)

DollyCam app lets you stabilize iPhone 4 videos, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a recent piece for Forbes magazine, Washington Post managing editor Raju Narisetti looks at the challenges that mainstream media of all kinds are facing — falling circulation, the gap between traditional print advertising and the smaller revenues from online advertising, and the difficulties of trying to be digital while still running a legacy business. So what are his solutions for what he calls the “broken business model of quality journalism?” Narisetti doesn’t really have any, which isn’t surprising: as the recent report from the FCC on the future of media showed, it’s a lot easier to describe the problems facing the media industry than it is to come up with answers. But one thing is becoming clear: incremental changes are not enough.

Narisetti says in his piece that while many media companies such as the Washington Post are growing their online audiences, that doesn’t even come close to making up for the loss of print subscribers, because one generates revenue and the other doesn’t:

The print subscribers we lose are typically loyal readers who spent 40-plus minutes with The Post each day and have done so for years. The majority of online readers — both new and old — are promiscuous, read tiny morsels in under five minutes per visit and think the same Post content that others pay for in print is not worth paying for online.

Paywalls and apps aren’t the answer

The WaPo editor also notes that while many mainstream media companies have gotten good at cutting costs, they have “consistently failed to imagine and then incubate a Craigslist, a Groupon [or] a Monster.com… nor are they any closer today than they were last year in fixing the broken business model of quality journalism.” And while charging readers may seem like the right solution, whether via paywalls or iPad apps, Narisetti argues (correctly, I think) that there are some serious issues with those answers as well, including:

• A metered model makes your business susceptible to the will of a few readers — those who consume the most articles/pages. Often, less than 5% of these kinds of visitors account for nearly 50% of your page views. And they have very little barriers to exit.

(and)

• Aggregators like Huffington Post will still find ways to deliver your content for free and often with more engaging technologies since they don’t have to invest much in content creation.

Narisetti also makes a point that I think many newspaper and magazine publishers miss, which is that media companies are trying to charge readers for what amounts to a traditional website-reading experience (or an even more crippled one, given the “walled garden” nature of many iPad apps) at the same time that new display and distribution models such as Flipboard and Zite and TweetMag are offering something much more appealing, and free.

Scrolling on Web sites has always been a poor experience for consuming news. Now, just as new devices and digital experiences — none invented by major news brands — create richer engagement outside our sites, we are talking about charging readers for sub-optimal Web site consumption.

When it comes to solutions, Narisetti suggests a couple of potential answers, including some kind of licensing scheme that would take advantage of the aggregation of mainstream media content by outlets such as The Huffington Post. But he admits that there’s no guarantee any of these will work — which is good, because trying to license content to web aggregators seems like a losing proposition to me, or at least not the kind of business that is going to produce a huge amount of income for traditional publishers.

An imagination deficit

In terms of what media companies can do, I think the Washington Post editor is right when he says that the biggest challenge facing the industry is what he calls “an imagination deficit.” Instead of just trying to charge for existing content, he says more organizations need to take risks with their business model.

The problem is that most mainstream media entities are not designed for experimentation, and in many cases the way they function hasn’t changed noticeably in decades. Few have taken as dramatic a step as the Journal-Register Co., where CEO John Paton has reversed the traditional structure of a paper and put digital staff in charge of the entire operation. And only a few have set up the kind of “skunk works” labs or spinoff units that can experiment freely or come up with things like News.me, as Anil Dash of Activate Media recommends in a presentation I wrote about recently.

It’s true that some media companies are making small efforts to change the way they do things, or trying new tools or ways of reaching users — the way that Brian Stelter is with Tumblr at the New York Times, or the way that his colleague Nick Kristof does with his use of Facebook (ironically, Narisetti himself caused a minor firestorm on Twitter in 2009 when he made some critical comments about the Washington Post‘s new social-media policy, and later briefly cancelled his account).

But these kinds of experiments, however worthwhile, are largely incremental changes. And as Narisetti correctly points out in his piece, during times of significant disruptive change, “there isn’t time or room for incrementalism.” Does that mean the Washington Post is planning some ambitious online moves? Let’s hope so — someone has to.

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr user David Reece

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Finding the Value in Social Media Data
• Report: Monetizing Digital Content
• Can Online Video Show Us the Future of Newspapers?

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When it comes to exceptional quality as well as vision Nintendo reigns supreme. Wii is the ideal model of what it implies to play video game titles on a finely- tuned machine. There’s only one issue with Wii: you cannot play free on-line games, DVDs or even authorized Wii games that you’ve paid for and saved. If a game you purchase gets even a tiny scratch, you’ll have to purchase yet another original disc.

Wii Homebrew software lets you steer clear of those issues. This software allows you to produce a copy of the original with out contravening any copyright laws on condition that the copy is for private use only. If you’re tempted to get into the copying business you may anticipate a jail sentence when you’re apprehended.

You can arrange your gaming habits into a single console by using Wii Homebrew to unlock Wii. Use your other entertainment gadgets for back -up systems. The real deal will be your brand new, thoroughly loaded Wii, full with games from Super Nintendo, Sega, Nintendo 64, which includes international games, among others.

If you unlock Wii, you get play in different format, video or audio. Do not worry about the steps to work the software. It?s a easy procedure even a child can do. Even better, your warranty stays intact. You will not even have to purchase any additional hardware.

If you’ve been considering how to unlock Wii, you may have learned or read about particular chips along with other gadgets. These folks are simply spamming you. In addition your warrantee will be damaged. Also, rubbish anybody who tries to sell you new hardware adjustment. That as well, is actually a great deal of you-know-what baloney.

Wii Homebrew, however, only requires five minutes to download and install. Think about the whole new video gaming world that’s going to open. That’s not all you’ve to do. Accessing the download and set up files is all extremely good. You are able to access these files effortlessly if you are creative enough. It’s what you do with the files that counts.

This is certainly the stage of one’s quest to unlock Wii wherein you need to get that specialist who is aware of every thing. He is that person that has an uncanny capability to get people like us come to feel rather foolish. This is the guy who will get things done . Know anybody like this?

In the event you don’t, here are a few of the skills to hunt for if you want expert support to unlock Wii:

- This particular person would have to be often called an individual efficient at doing anything at all.

- This particular person would have to be often called an individual efficient at doing anything at all.

- He has to be a top- notch software programmer, not an individual who does it on the side.

- He really should be willing to risk his status to unlock Wii gaming systems.

- He has to know all there’s to know around the inner functions of both a computer and Nintendo wii console.

- If he is a game creator, that is an advantage.

- It may well be a she, so don’t rule out ladies at this time.

After you come across this specialist, you may also come across your newly unlocked Wii. Or you can just attempt another thing. Here’s a tip: Homebrew Software program.

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If you want to write pop songs like Enrique Iglesias tonight you need to comprehend that there’s no single set way of writing it. All you’ll need would be to know the four main things that’s essential for any song namely song structure, lyrics, chords and melody. In the event you could put things together in the right way you can get beautiful songs. All you’ll need is small creativity and interest.

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