Nokia N9

The Nokia N9: a unique all-screen smartphone

Singapore - Nokia today announced the Nokia N9, built for people who appreciate a stunning blend of design and the latest smartphone technology.  To learn more about the design of the Nokia N9 visit:http://swipe.nokia.com

One swipe and you’re home
The Nokia N9 introduces an innovative new design where the home key is replaced by a simple gesture: a swipe. Whenever you’re in an application, swiping from the edge of the display takes you home.

The three home views of the user interface are designed to give fast access to the most important things people do with a phone: using apps, staying up to date with notifications and social networks, and switching between activities.

The industrial design of the Nokia N9 is an example of extreme product making and craft. The body is precision-machined from a single piece of polycarbonate and flows seamlessly into beautiful curved glass. The laminated deep black display means that the user interface just floats on the surface of the product.

The Nokia N9 also packs the latest in camera, navigation and audio technology for a great all-round experience.

“With the Nokia N9, we wanted to design a better way to use a phone. To do this we innovated in the design of the hardware and software together. We reinvented the home key with a simple gesture: a swipe from the edge of the screen. The experience sets a new bar for how natural technology can feel,” said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia’s head of Design. “And this is just the beginning. The details that make the Nokia N9 unique - the industrial design, the all-screen user experience, and the expressive Qt framework for developers - will evolve in future Nokia products.”

Innovative all-screen design
With no need for a home key, the all-screen Nokia N9 makes more room for apps to shine. The 3.9-inch AMOLED screen is made from scratch-resistant curved glass. The polycarbonate body enables superior antenna performance. This means better reception, better voice quality and fewer dropped calls.

Camera, maps and multimedia
The 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus sensor, wide-angle lens, HD-quality video capture and large lens aperture enable great camera performance even in lowlighting conditions. This makes the Nokia N9 one of the best camera-phones ever produced.

The Nokia N9 features free turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance in Maps. With the new dedicated Drive app, you can get in your car and start navigating to your destination right away.

You can watch videos in true 16:9 widescreen format. And because the Nokia N9 is also the world’s first smartphone with Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and Dolby Headphone post-processing technology, you get a surround sound experience with any set of headphones.

Touch just got better
Fitted with the latest in wireless technology, Near Field Communication (NFC), the Nokia N9 allows you to easily share images and videos between devices by touching them together.  Pair it with Bluetooth accessories like the new NFC-enabled Nokia Play 360° wireless music speaker only once, and you get a great surround sound music experience with just a tap.

Colors and Memory
The Nokia N9 will be available in three colors - black, cyan, and magenta with storage options to accommodate plenty of content: 16GB and 64GB. The Nokia N9 is scheduled to be in stores later this year, with availability and local pricing to be announced closer to the sales start.

More information about the Nokia N9 can be found at: http://swipe.nokia.com.

About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in virtually every market in the world. Through Ovi (http://www.ovi.com), people also enjoy access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store, a growing catalog of digital music, free email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and professional services globally.

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Sony World Photography Awards now calling for entries for 2012 edition

Organised by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards is an annual contest open to both amateur and professional photographers.

In the professional competition, photographers can enter 15 categories divided into three themes - commercial, fine art, and photojournalism and documentary. This year a Nature and Wildlife category has been added in a bid to attract more entries.

The Moving Image Awards, which rewards movies and multimedia works shot by photographers, is also back after its inaugural edition this year. This time, however, it features six categories - nature and wildlife, people, extraordinary and ordinary, commercial, fine art, and documentary.

The Student Focus contest continues as well, with the goal to "support and connect the next generation of photography pros," issued from some of the world's best universities.

Photographers have until 04 January 2012 to enter the awards. The winners will be announced in a ceremony in London in April 2012, when the overall winner will receive the Iris D'Or Sony World Photography Awards, which comes with a $25,000 cash prize.

The ceremony will coincide with the World Photography Festival, taking place at Somerset House in London.


For more information and to enter, visit www.worldphoto.org.

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Apple iCloud

SAN FRANCISCO—June 6, 2011—Apple today introduced iCloud, a breakthrough set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and automatically and wirelessly push it to all your devices. When anything changes on one of your devices, all of your devices are wirelessly updated almost instantly.

“Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up-to-date across all your devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it’s integrated into our apps you don’t even need to think about it—it all just works.”

The free iCloud services include:

• The former MobileMe services—Contacts, Calendar and Mail—all completely re-architected and rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. Users can share calendars with friends and family, and the ad-free push Mail account is hosted at me.com. Your inbox and mailboxes are kept up-to-date across all your iOS devices and computers.

• The App Store and iBookstore now download purchased iOS apps and books to all your devices, not just the device they were purchased on. In addition, the App Store and iBookstore now let you see your purchase history, and simply tapping the iCloud icon will download any apps and books to any iOS device (up to 10 devices) at no additional cost.

• iCloud Backup automatically and securely backs up your iOS devices to iCloud daily over Wi-Fi when you charge your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Backed up content includes purchased music, apps and books, Camera Roll (photos and videos), device settings and app data. If you replace your iOS device, just enter your Apple ID and password during setup and iCloud restores your new device.

• iCloud Storage seamlessly stores all documents created using iCloud Storage APIs, and automatically pushes them to all your devices. When you change a document on any device, iCloud automatically pushes the changes to all your devices. Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps already take advantage of iCloud Storage. Users get up to 5GB of free storage for their mail, documents and backup—which is more amazing since the storage for music, apps and books purchased from Apple, and the storage required by Photo Stream doesn’t count towards this 5GB total. Users will be able to buy even more storage, with details announced when iCloud ships this fall.

• iCloud’s innovative Photo Stream service automatically uploads the photos you take or import on any of your devices and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices and computers. So you can use your iPhone to take a dozen photos of your friends during the afternoon baseball game, and they will be ready to share with the entire group on your iPad (or even Apple TV) when you return home. Photo Stream is built into the photo apps on all iOS devices, iPhoto on Macs, and saved to the Pictures folder on a PC. To save space, the last 1,000 photos are stored on each device so they can be viewed or moved to an album to save forever. Macs and PCs will store all photos from the Photo Stream, since they have more storage. iCloud will store each photo in the cloud for 30 days, which is plenty of time to connect your devices to iCloud and automatically download the latest photos from Photo Stream via Wi-Fi.

• iTunes in the Cloud lets you download your previously purchased iTunes music to all your iOS devices at no additional cost, and new music purchases can be downloaded automatically to all your devices. In addition, music not purchased from iTunes can gain the same benefits by using iTunes Match, a service that replaces your music with a 256 kbps AAC DRM-free version if we can match it to the over 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, it makes the matched music available in minutes (instead of weeks to upload your entire music library), and uploads only the small percentage of unmatched music. iTunes Match will be available this fall for a $24.99 annual fee. Apple today is releasing a free beta version of iTunes in the Cloud, without iTunes Match, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users running iOS 4.3. iTunes in the Cloud will support all iPhones that iOS 5 supports this fall.

Apple is ready to ramp iCloud in its three data centers, including the third recently completed in Maiden, NC. Apple has invested over $500 million in its Maiden data center to support the expected customer demand for the free iCloud services.

Pricing & Availability 
The iCloud beta and Cloud Storage APIs are available immediately to iOS and Mac Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. iCloud will be available this fall concurrent with iOS 5. Users can sign up for iCloud for free on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 5 or a Mac running Mac OS X Lion with a valid Apple ID. iCloud includes 5GB of free cloud storage for Mail, Document Storage and Backup. Purchased music, apps, books and Photo Stream do not count against the storage limit. iTunes Match will be available for $24.99 per year (US only).

iTunes in the Cloud is available today in the US and requires iTunes 10.3 and iOS 4.3.3. Automatic download of apps and books is available today. Using iCloud with a PC requires Windows Vista or Windows 7; Outlook 2010 or 2007 is recommended for accessing contacts and calendars.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

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John Swannell Photography Lecture

John Swannell photography lecture in aid of autism

John Swannell, world renowned fashion, beauty and royal photographer, is hosting a public lecture at The Royal Geographical Society on 7th June in order to raise funds for the National Autistic Society, the UK’s leading charity for people affected by autism.

The lecture will take the form of a journey through John’s photographic career, from his first days as an assistant at Vogue Studios through to his time working for publications such as Harpers & Queen, The Sunday Times and Tatler.  John will talk about his experiences of photographing some of the world’s most well-known faces, how fashion has changed over the years, and the amazing places across the world John has visited throughout his career.

John is hosting the event in aid of the National Autistic Society as his adult son, Charlie, has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.  The money raised by John’s lecture will go towards fundraising for key services and support for individuals with autism in the UK.

John Swannell said: “This will be the first time I have talked in public about the early years of my career and I will also be revealing some never-seen before photographs as well as some of my more famous work including portraits of Diana, Princess of Wales and her two sons, Joanna Lumley, Andy Warhol and Tony Blair.  Autism is a serious, lifelong and disabling condition but the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to people’s lives.  I am really pleased to be working with the National Autistic Society and fundraising to help support people with autism, like my son Charlie, across the UK.”

The lecture will be held at the Royal Geographical Society, London and will be open to the public.  Tickets will cost £15 with all proceeds going to charity, to book tickets visithttp://www.autism.org.uk/johnswannell 

16 of John Swannell’s portraits, ranging from previously unseen photographs taken in the last year, to portraits taken at the start of his career in the early 1970’s will form part of a new display at the National Portrait Gallery.  The display, Now and Then: Photographs by John Swannell with run from April 22 until December 31.

The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for people with autism and their families.  Founded in 1962, it continues to spearhead national and international initiatives and provide a strong voice for all people with autism. The NAS provides a wide range of services to help people with autism and Asperger syndrome live their lives with as much independence as possible.

The NAS relies on the support of its members and donors to continue its vital work for people with autism. To become a member, make a donation or to find out more about the work of the NAS, visit the NAS website http://www.autism.org.uk

For more information about autism and for help in your area, call the NAS Autism Helpline on: 0845 070 4004 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday, (local rates apply).
The NAS Autism Services Directory is the UK’s most comprehensive directory of services and events for people with autism. Visit http://www.autism.org.uk/autismdirectory to find autism services and support networks in your area.

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GigaPan Time Machine

Time-lapse GigaPans Provide New Way To Access Big Data

PITTSBURGH, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/—Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in and out of the images while simultaneously moving back and forth through time.

Viewers, for instance, can use the system to focus in on the details of a booth within a panorama of a carnival midway, but also reverse time to see how the booth was constructed. Or they can watch a group of plants sprout, grow and flower, shifting perspective to watch some plants move wildly as they grow while others get eaten by caterpillars. Or, they can view a computer simulation of the early universe, watching as gravity works across 600 million light-years to condense matter into filaments and finally into stars that can be seen by zooming in for a close up.

“With GigaPan Time Machine, you can simultaneously explore space and time at extremely high resolutions,” said Illah Nourbakhsh, associate professor of robotics and head of the CREATE Lab. “Science has always been about narrowing your point of view—selecting a particular experiment or observation that you think might provide insight. But this system enables what we call exhaustive science, capturing huge amounts of data that can then be explored in amazing ways.”

The system is an extension of the GigaPan technology developed by the CREATE Lab and NASA, which can capture a mosaic of hundreds or thousands of digital pictures and stitch those frames into a panorama that be interactively explored via computer. To extend GigaPan into the time dimension, image mosaics are repeatedly captured at set intervals, and then stitched across both space and time to create a video in which each frame can be hundreds of millions, or even billions of pixels.

An enabling technology for time-lapse GigaPans is a feature of the HTML5 language that has been incorporated into such browsers as Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari. HTML5, the latest revision of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) standard that is at the core of the Internet, makes browsers capable of presenting video content without use of plug-ins such as Adobe Flash or Quicktime.

Using HTML5, CREATE Lab computer scientists Randy Sargent, Chris Bartley and Paul Dille developed algorithms and software architecture that make it possible to shift seamlessly from one video portion to another as viewers zoom in and out of Time Machine imagery. To keep bandwidth manageable, the GigaPan site streams only those video fragments that pertain to the segment and/or time frame being viewed.

“We were crashing the browsers early on,” Sargent recalled. “We’re really pushing the browser technology to the limits.”

Guidelines on how individuals can capture time-lapse images using GigaPan cameras are included on the site created for hosting the new imagery’s large data files, http://timemachine.gigapan.org. Sargent explained the CREATE Lab is eager to work with people who want to capture Time Machine imagery with GigaPan, or use the visualization technology for other applications.
Once a Time Machine GigaPan has been created, viewers can annotate and save their explorations of it in the form of video “Time Warps.”

Though the time-lapse mode is an extension of the original GigaPan concept, scientists already are applying the visualization techniques to other types of Big Data. Carnegie Mellon’s Bruce and Astrid McWilliams Center for Cosmology, for instance, has used it to visualize a simulation of the early universe performed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center by Tiziana Di Matteo, associate professor of physics.

“Simulations are a huge bunch of numbers, ugly numbers,” Di Matteo said. “Visualizing even a portion of a simulation requires a huge amount of computing itself.” Visualization of these large data sets is crucial to the science, however. “Discoveries often come from just looking at it,” she explained.

Rupert Croft, associate professor of physics, said cosmological simulations are so massive that only a segment can be visualized at a time using usual techniques. Yet whatever is happening within that segment is being affected by forces elsewhere in the simulation that cannot be readily accessed. By converting the entire simulation into a time-lapse GigaPan, however, Croft and his Ph.D. student, Yu Feng, were able to create an image that provided both the big picture of what was happening in the early universe and the ability to look in detail at any region of interest.

Using a conventional GigaPan camera, Janet Steven, an assistant professor of biology at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, has created time-lapse imagery of rapid-growing brassicas, known as Wisconsin Fast Plants. “This is such an incredible tool for plant biology,” she said. “It gives you the advantage of observing individual plants, groups of plants and parts of plants, all at once.”

Steven, who has received GigaPan training through the Fine Outreach for Science program, said time-lapse photography has long been used in biology, but the GigaPan technology makes it possible to observe a number of plants in detail without having separate cameras for each plant. Even as one plant is studied in detail, it’s possible to also see what neighboring plants are doing and how that might affect the subject plant, she added.

Steven said creating time-lapse GigaPans of entire landscapes could be a powerful tool for studying seasonal change in plants and ecosystems, an area of increasing interest for understanding climate change. Time-lapse GigaPan imagery of biological experiments also could be an educational tool, allowing students to make independent observations and develop their own hypotheses.
Google Inc. supported development of GigaPan Time Machine.

Follow the School of Computer Science on Twitter @SCSatCMU.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (http://www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 11,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled “Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University,” which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

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GigaPan Time Machine

Time-lapse GigaPans Provide New Way To Access Big Data

PITTSBURGH, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/—Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in and out of the images while simultaneously moving back and forth through time.

Viewers, for instance, can use the system to focus in on the details of a booth within a panorama of a carnival midway, but also reverse time to see how the booth was constructed. Or they can watch a group of plants sprout, grow and flower, shifting perspective to watch some plants move wildly as they grow while others get eaten by caterpillars. Or, they can view a computer simulation of the early universe, watching as gravity works across 600 million light-years to condense matter into filaments and finally into stars that can be seen by zooming in for a close up.

“With GigaPan Time Machine, you can simultaneously explore space and time at extremely high resolutions,” said Illah Nourbakhsh, associate professor of robotics and head of the CREATE Lab. “Science has always been about narrowing your point of view—selecting a particular experiment or observation that you think might provide insight. But this system enables what we call exhaustive science, capturing huge amounts of data that can then be explored in amazing ways.”

The system is an extension of the GigaPan technology developed by the CREATE Lab and NASA, which can capture a mosaic of hundreds or thousands of digital pictures and stitch those frames into a panorama that be interactively explored via computer. To extend GigaPan into the time dimension, image mosaics are repeatedly captured at set intervals, and then stitched across both space and time to create a video in which each frame can be hundreds of millions, or even billions of pixels.

An enabling technology for time-lapse GigaPans is a feature of the HTML5 language that has been incorporated into such browsers as Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari. HTML5, the latest revision of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) standard that is at the core of the Internet, makes browsers capable of presenting video content without use of plug-ins such as Adobe Flash or Quicktime.

Using HTML5, CREATE Lab computer scientists Randy Sargent, Chris Bartley and Paul Dille developed algorithms and software architecture that make it possible to shift seamlessly from one video portion to another as viewers zoom in and out of Time Machine imagery. To keep bandwidth manageable, the GigaPan site streams only those video fragments that pertain to the segment and/or time frame being viewed.

“We were crashing the browsers early on,” Sargent recalled. “We’re really pushing the browser technology to the limits.”

Guidelines on how individuals can capture time-lapse images using GigaPan cameras are included on the site created for hosting the new imagery’s large data files, http://timemachine.gigapan.org. Sargent explained the CREATE Lab is eager to work with people who want to capture Time Machine imagery with GigaPan, or use the visualization technology for other applications.
Once a Time Machine GigaPan has been created, viewers can annotate and save their explorations of it in the form of video “Time Warps.”

Though the time-lapse mode is an extension of the original GigaPan concept, scientists already are applying the visualization techniques to other types of Big Data. Carnegie Mellon’s Bruce and Astrid McWilliams Center for Cosmology, for instance, has used it to visualize a simulation of the early universe performed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center by Tiziana Di Matteo, associate professor of physics.

“Simulations are a huge bunch of numbers, ugly numbers,” Di Matteo said. “Visualizing even a portion of a simulation requires a huge amount of computing itself.” Visualization of these large data sets is crucial to the science, however. “Discoveries often come from just looking at it,” she explained.

Rupert Croft, associate professor of physics, said cosmological simulations are so massive that only a segment can be visualized at a time using usual techniques. Yet whatever is happening within that segment is being affected by forces elsewhere in the simulation that cannot be readily accessed. By converting the entire simulation into a time-lapse GigaPan, however, Croft and his Ph.D. student, Yu Feng, were able to create an image that provided both the big picture of what was happening in the early universe and the ability to look in detail at any region of interest.

Using a conventional GigaPan camera, Janet Steven, an assistant professor of biology at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, has created time-lapse imagery of rapid-growing brassicas, known as Wisconsin Fast Plants. “This is such an incredible tool for plant biology,” she said. “It gives you the advantage of observing individual plants, groups of plants and parts of plants, all at once.”

Steven, who has received GigaPan training through the Fine Outreach for Science program, said time-lapse photography has long been used in biology, but the GigaPan technology makes it possible to observe a number of plants in detail without having separate cameras for each plant. Even as one plant is studied in detail, it’s possible to also see what neighboring plants are doing and how that might affect the subject plant, she added.

Steven said creating time-lapse GigaPans of entire landscapes could be a powerful tool for studying seasonal change in plants and ecosystems, an area of increasing interest for understanding climate change. Time-lapse GigaPan imagery of biological experiments also could be an educational tool, allowing students to make independent observations and develop their own hypotheses.
Google Inc. supported development of GigaPan Time Machine.

Follow the School of Computer Science on Twitter @SCSatCMU.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (http://www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 11,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled “Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University,” which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

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Jim Goldberg wins Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011

US photographer Jim Goldberg has received the 15th Photography Prize organised by The Photographers' Gallery in London in association with Deutsche Börse.

The prize was presented by broadcaster and critic Miranda Sawyer at a ceremony at Ambika P3 at the University of Westminster where the exhibition is held this year.

Each year, the award goes to a living photographer that has made "the most significant contribution, in exhibition or publication format, to the medium of photography in Europe" over the past 12 months.

Magnum photographer Goldberg was nominated for his exhibition Open See, which went on show last year at The Photographers' Gallery. He came ahead of three other photographers and artists - Thomas Demand, Roe Ethridge and Elad Lassry.

Open See "documents the experiences of refugee, immigrant and trafficked populations who travel from war torn, socially and economically devastated countries, such as Iraq, Bangladesh, China, The Balkans and Congo, to make new lives in Europe. Fusing Polaroids, video, written text, ephemera and large and medium format photographs, Goldberg reflects on issues of migration and the conditions for desiring escape."

Brett Rogers, director of The Photographers' Gallery, comments: "Due to the breadth of the Award criteria, the jury felt that any one of the four nominees could have been the winner. They however awarded the Prize to Jim Goldberg for Open See, acclaiming its timely and inventive approach to documentary practice, at the heart of which lies for him co-authorship, a form of creative collaboration allowing these individuals to tell their own stories."

According to Julia Taeschner, head of corporate responsibility for Deutsche Börse, "the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize has once again succeeded in bringing together the most important and interesting representatives of the European photographic scene."

The exhibition is on show until 01 May. It will then go to Berlin from 12 May for six weeks. For more details, visit www.photonet.org.uk.

Read more: BJP Online

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Nikon, Canon to offer support to Royal Wedding photographers

With an estimated 327 million photographs to be taken of the Royal Wedding, according to recent research by Nikon, the major manufacturers are ramping up their operations to offer dedicated service points for their professional users from Thursday 28 April.

Nikon is setting up its Service Depot in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, a few meters away from Westminster Abbey where Kate Middleton and Prince Williams will marry on 29 April.

Nikon Professional Service members will benefit from free camera checks and sensor and lens cleaning services. They will also be able to loan Nikon equipment if needed.

Accredited professional users of Canon will, however, have to reach New Oxford Street, 1.4 miles away to gain access to a complimentary camera sensor clean and check service at the Pro Lounge at Jacobs. Canon users will also be able to have the cameras repaired and borrow equipment on an emergency basis.

Professional service technicians from both manufacturers will be on hand on Thursday 28 April, as well as on the day of the Royal Wedding. Canon and Nikon will also offer free WiFi access for photographers to wire their images before and after the event.

The Nikon Service Depot will be located in the Albert Suite in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (2nd Floor), opposite Westminster Abbey and will be open from 9.30am - 5.30pm.

Canon Professional Services will be located downstairs in the Pro Lounge at Jacobs, 74 New Oxford Street and will be open from 10am until 6pm on Thursday and 9am until 6pm on Friday.

Read more: BJP Online

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Hasselblad Special Applications Department

Hasselblad Announces the Formation of a New Special Applications Department

20/04/2011 With an initial focus on aerial photography, this new Department represents a new initiative by Hasselblad to go further in developing products and solutions to meet the needs of photographers working in special fields.

From its very first camera in 1941, an aerial model designed for the Swedish Air Force during World War II to its collaborations with NASA, Hasselblad has demonstrated the ability to develop products that overcome the unique challenges posed by aerial photography-within the earth’s atmosphere and beyond, to outer space. Over the past 70 years, aerial photography has evolved in scope, encompassing a wider-than-ever mix of subjects and uses. Always attuned to the needs of its customers and their changing demands, Hasselblad has continuously developed its aerial system and now offers a range of aerial solutions based on its flagship line of H4D cameras.

Whether aerial photography is being used to capture artistic images for commercial purposes, construction site surveys, documentary evidence of environmental changes, or even highly complex, multi-camera photogrammetric mapping, Hasselblad’s H4D Aerial system provides the tools needed to accomplish the task at hand. Special locking mechanisms provide secure mounting of all system components to counteract aircraft vibration while specialized production methods ensure an extreme level of sensor and image plane positioning accuracy, to name just a few of the Aerial system’s targeted strengths. With these benefits, Hasselblad is in a unique position to offer products and solutions that address the requirements of the full spectrum of aerial disciplines.

Hasselblad lens quality and DAC lens corrections are key factors in critical aerial photography, particularly for maintaining maximum detail and sharpness, even when small sections of an aerial image need to be magnified.

In addition to the versatility of being able to capture images directly to a CompactFlash card or, when tethered, to external storage media, Hasselblad offers a Software Development Kit [SDK] for photographers who may need to build their own specialized applications for controlling the camera from the user’s own software. Furthermore, the Continuum, a sample application for operators who need easy access to camera control via a computer without running Hasselblad’s Phocus software or having to build their own application, will also be available.

As Benny Buchtrup, Global Special Applications Manager, explains, “We at Hasselblad take pride in manufacturing solutions for our customer’s needs and with the Special Applications Department, we are counting on ideas from Hasselblad users to move beyond our current product line-up into specialized photographic fields.” Buchtrup goes on to say that, “With Hasselblad’s heritage in airborne photography, we’re starting with the H4D Aerial system but this is only the beginning. We will continue to look at opportunities in specialized photographic fields and are excited by the prospect of further evolving this new department.”

For more information about Hasselblad’s H4D Aerial system solutions, please visit:http://www.hasselbladaerial.com

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Two TIPA Awards for Nikon

Nikon wins again at the TIPA awards: D7000 and COOLPIX P300 honored

London, UK , 21 April 2011 – Nikon Europe today announced it has been awarded two prestigious TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) awards, with the D7000 taking the prize for Best D-SLR Advanced and the COOLPIX P300 winning the accolade of Best General Compact Camera.

TIPA is Europe’s leading image press association. Its awards are chosen by 29 photographic magazines across 13 European countries and they are given to products that the jury consider to be the best in category in terms of overall quality, performance and benefit for the defined end-user.

Jordi Brinkman, Product Manager for Nikon Europe says: “We are really proud that the D7000 has followed-up on the success of the D90, which took the same prize in 2009. For our advanced D-SLR users, we always strive to offer cutting-edge technology that will appeal to passionate photographers looking for the next step in creativity. We’re particularly pleased that the esteemed TIPA organization has praised the versatility of the D7000.”

Sander van Velzen, Product Manager for Consumer Products at Nikon Europe adds: “We have had some great feedback for the COOLPIX P300 from discerning photography enthusiasts, who love the newly-developed super bright f/1.8, 24mm[1] wide angle zoom lens and stunning, true-to-life images it produces. The resulting award from TIPA speaks for itself: this is one of our highest-quality compact cameras to date.”

Best D-SLR Advanced: Nikon D7000
The TIPA jury comments: “The Nikon D7000 impressed us as the definition of a state-of-the-art DX-format DSLR (APS-C size) with a 16.2 MP CMOS sensor, six frames-per-second framing rate for up to 100 shots and full 1080p HD movies with full-time AF. With twin SD card slots, a 100% viewfinder and bright 3-inch LCD for Live View operation, the camera is extremely versatile in the field. The magnesium alloy top and rear covers, special weather and dust seals plus 150,000 cycle-rated shutter system give it a pro feel.”

Best General Compact Camera: Nikon COOLPIX P300
The TIPA jury comments: “The Nikon COOLPIX P300 is a stylish compact camera with a remarkably powerful f/1.8 lens, starting at 24mm (35mm equivalent) with 4.2x optical zoom. High Refractive Index glass further ensures sharp images with high contrast. Combined with its powerful 12.2 Megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, this camera gives excellent image quality even in dim lighting conditions. The P300 can film in Full HD (1080p), but also in slow motion with a recording speed of up to 120fps.

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Epson Wins Three TIPA Awards

Epson recognised for its easy-to-use, high quality imaging products

21st April 2011 – Epson® has asserted its position as a leader in the professional imaging industry by winning three of the most important photo and imaging technology accolades at the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) Awards 2011.

Epson products recognised by TIPA were the Epson Stylus Photo R3000, named as the ‘Best Expert Photo Printer’, the Epson Stylus Pro 4900, which won ‘Best Large Format Printer’, and the Epson Perfection V330 Photo, which was judged ‘Best Photo Scanner’.

Kristin Saus-Opuszynski, Senior Business Manager ProPhoto, Epson Europe, said: “At Epson we continually look for new solutions and ways to enhance our product range, in order to meet the changing needs of our customers. Winning three prestigious TIPA awards this year is testament to that commitment and recognition of our achievements as a result.”

TIPA consists of 29 member magazines from 14 countries all over the world, making it one of the largest and most influential photographic and imaging press associations globally. Every year the TIPA editors vote for the best products introduced to the market during the previous 12 months, taking into account innovation, cutting-edge technology, design, ease-of-use and the price to performance ratio of the products.

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Photo Mechanic Discounted Until April 31

The folks at Camera Bits have created a special promotion to celebrate their 15th anniversary. They're offering Photo Mechanic 4.6 at a price of just $60.

Since 1998 people have been using Photo Mechanic workflow software and it's relied upon by pros and enthusiasts alike. The latest version adds features like batch captioning, geo-tagging and upload templates for services like SmugMug and Flickr.

"The 15th anniversary of Photo Mechanic represents a milestone, and we are proud of our ability to consistently improve upon our celebrated software," says Camera Bits founder Dennis Walker. "Camera Bits is offering this special promotion price in order to share the software, which professional photographers have long considered a must-have, with a widening audience of photo enthusiasts and smaller photography organizations."

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2011 FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards

Are you a natural photographic winner?

2011 FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards
Supported by Epson & Hahnemühle

The FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards, sponsored by EPSON, sets a high benchmark in European photography – and professional photographers now have a chance to obtain these prestigious awards by participating in this competition, where images from the best of worldwide photographers will compete.

... Amongst the best in the world ?...
“Winning gives me the motivation needed to continue the creativity and do something, ’outside the box’ that really makes the difference. The point is, not only to be different. We should be different, but at the same time be different with something thought provoking, but in a good way!” says 2010 FEP Photographer of the Year André Boto, who has profited immensely from the publicity gained by his winning entry. “This prestigious award has given me very good exposure in the media and a tremendous response from my clients, new and old!” André Boto adds.

Hahnemühle, our newest FEP sponsor:
“The Hahnemühle Fine Art papers are regarded as the first choice for ambitious photographers. Hence, it comes as no surprise that we wanted to be involved in this competition for professionals”, says Stephan Freist, Press Officer at Hahnemühle.

“We are very proud and honoured to have Hahnemühle sponsor the FEP European Portrait Golden Camera Award”, says FEP CEO Giuseppe Scozzi.

Open for entries
The competition is now open for entries from European Photographers. 
Non-Europeans can participate in their own special section.

There are six categories in the competition: WEDDING; COMMERCIAL; PORTRAIT; REPORTAGE; LANDSCAPE; ILLUSTRATIVE.

There are also two special sections: 
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS (for Non- European professional photographers), and YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHERS & STUDENTS open to students of recognised schools of photography and to photographers and assistants under 25 year of age. Images submitted for the special sections will be judged using the same criteria as the six main categories.

AWARDS
The following awards will be presented
• FEP European Wedding Golden Camera Award
• Hahnemühle FEP European Portrait Golden Camera Award
• FEP European Commercial Golden Camera Award
• FEP European Reportage Golden Camera Award
• FEP European Landscape Golden Camera Award
• FEP European Illustrative Golden Camera Award
• FEP International Golden Camera Award
• FEP European Young Photographers & Students Award

and the overall

FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Award

Bronze, Silver and Gold diplomas will be issued to high scoring images. 
With FEP President Neil Warner as Chairman of the Jury, this prestigious competition will be judged by an international jury of 7 members, of different nationalities, selected from amongst, Master QEP photographers and other photographic experts nominated by the FEP board and sponsors.

“Here the best compete against the best - and Europe shows its high level of international photography”, Neil Warner added.
The competition will close for entries on July 31st 2011.

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Cisco Restructures Consumer Business

Cisco Restructures Consumer Business

SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 12, 2011 - As part of the company’s comprehensive plan to align its operations, Cisco today announced that it will exit aspects of its consumer businesses and realign the remaining consumer business to support four of its five key company priorities – core routing, switching and services; collaboration; architectures; and video. As part of its plan, Cisco will:

Close down its Flip business and support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan.

Refocus Cisco’s Home Networking business for greater profitability and connection to the company’s core networking infrastructure as the network expands into a video platform in the home. These industry-leading products will continue to be available through retail channels.

Integrate Cisco umi into the company’s Business TelePresence product line and operate through an enterprise and service provider go-to-market model, consistent with existing business TelePresence efforts.

Assess core video technology integration of Cisco’s Eos media solutions business or other market opportunities for this business.

“We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy,” said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO. “As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network’s ability to deliver on those offerings.”

In connection with the changes to the consumer business, it is anticipated that Cisco will recognize restructuring charges to its GAAP financial results, with an aggregate pre-tax impact not expected to exceed $300 million during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2011. The charges will be disclosed in upcoming earnings conference calls and quarterly Form 10-Q filings.  Additionally, the company expects this will result in a reduction of approximately 550 employees in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

About Cisco
Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the company’s plan to align its operations in support of its network-centric platform strategy, Cisco’s consumer focus going forward, the maximum size of the anticipated restructuring charges, and expected employee reductions. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including, among other things, how well we execute on our strategy and operating plans, business and economic conditions and growth trends in the networking industry, customer markets and various geographic regions, global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment and other risk factors set forth in Cisco’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statements in this release are based on limited information currently available to Cisco, which is subject to change, and Cisco will not necessarily update the information.

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