Category Archives: News

My Favorite New Media Things for January 2013

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My Favorite Things

It looks like I shared lots of Food and Gardening items in the past month. It is interesting to watch how my interests rise and fall over the course of the months.

As always, let me know what types of interesting items you would like to see and I will keep an eye out for them especially. — Douglas

Links to all of these items, and more, are on my Pinterest Feed.

Follow Me on Pinterest

News: WordPress 3.5.1 Released – Update Your Blogs!

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Working with my WordPress-based blogs today, I see a notice that WordPress 3.5.1 has been released. In this world of online attacks, spam and malware, it is important to keep your Worpdress software up to date.

You can install this WordPress Update directly from your blog dashboard.

View the WordPress.org change log for this version.

News: Update Powerpress WordPress/Podcasting Plugin ASAP

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Powerpress logo

It looks like there was a security problem with one of the audio players used by the PowerPress WordPress plugin that many podcasters use on their sites. There is an update waiting and Blubrry says “Everyone is strongly encouraged to update their copy of PowerPress immediately!”

Taking their advice, I have done just that on all my WordPress blogs and you should too. Visit your WordPress Dashboard to perform the quick update.

Here is a snippet from the PowerPress Changelog for this version… 

Powerpress 4.0.6

  • Released on 1/23/2013
  • Everyone is strongly encouraged to update their copy of PowerPress immediately!
  • Due to concerns of possible security exploits, the 1 Pixel Out Audio Player has been removed from PowerPress. Learn More
  • Notices added in both the WP dashboard and in the Audio player settings page that the 1 Pixel Out player has been removed.
  • If you’ve configured your web site with the 1 Pixel Out Audio Player, Flow Player Classic will be used. Go to the PowerPress > Audio Player settings page to change this player if you like.

 

Elsewhere: IK Multimedia’s iRig HD adapter for iOS, Mac lets guitars ride the Lightning port

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IK Multimedia’s iRig HD adapter for iOS, Mac lets guitars ride the Lightning port 

Engadget.com

Ik irig

IK Multimedia spent a lot of time at CES 2013 courting Android musicians, but we neglected to mention equal attention spent on iOS at the show through the iRig HD. The company’s new adapter pipes audio from a guitar or other instrument with a quarter-inch plug into Lightning-equipped Apple devices, keeping them in IK’s musical world (and inviting terrible Metallica puns).

[…]

Read the entire article

Technology and New Media News out of CES Las Vegas this week

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This week the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is running in Las Vegas, NV and the technology and new media news has been coming fast and furious. I have been highlighting interesting products and information on my social media accounts and I wanted to gather up these links for the blogs.

Since there is a lot of crossover between the general technology news and those products useful in new media, I am sharing the post with both my Careers in New Media and my TechnologyIQ blogs. I will add to this list of links as the week progressing and new news arises. Enjoy!

micconnect XLR Griffin Powerdock Bluestacks Blue Nessie NewImage

All About Douglas – Choose what you want to see and hear from me in 2013!

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Post it note 1

I have a lot of interests, as most of you already know. Therefore, I have a lot of different blogs, events,  and groups in my portfolio of online engagements. I also try to make myself available wherever people want to converse. This means that each of my interests usually has multiple presences on the Internet.

Here is a list of almost all of the ways you can talk with me and learn about what is happening in my life and work. You don’t need to, nor should you, try to subscribe to all of them. That would only lead to you seeing multiple copies of the same information. Rather, pick and choose whatever ways you would like to consume my “content.” If you are a heavy Facbeook user, you might want to join my pages there. Is Google+ catching your fancy? I have a home over there, too. Maybe email is your thing? No problem, almost all of my content can be emailed directly to your Inbox.

My goal is to make my content available in whatever way makes the most sense to you. It also means you can contact me and converse with me on your favorite online services. This list is also broken down by interest. If you want to see everything I post and share, the first section is where you can find it. This will contain information from all my areas of interest including events, careers, gardening, technology and my organizations.

Maybe, though, you are only interested in my gardening information. You can narrow your reading to my gardening blog or Facebook page. The same applies for careers, technology and my organizations. Select whatever is most interesting, and valuable, to you.

Thank you for supporting me, my blogs and podcasts and my organization over the years! I look forward to talking with you — and sharing more with you — in 2013.  

 

Subscribed 018: Thinking Allowed from BBC Radio 4

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Subscribed is my series highlighting the Podcasts, YouTube Channels and Blogs that I follow on a daily basis. Check out this entry, and past entries, for some great New Media Content — Douglas

Thinking allowed 

Subscribed 018: Subscribed 018: Thinking Allowed from BBC Radio 4

I figured I might as well double-down on last week’s post about another BBC Radio 4 show, In Our Time, and post my other, favorite show from the BBC. Thinking Allowed with host, Laurie Taylor is all about culture and society. His guest regularly include authors and experts on sociology and culture as he explores 2 topics during each episode. Recent shows include discussions on Intoxication and Drugs, History, Heritage and Tradition in British Politics, Children in Hospitals, Family Funerals and Red Tape in India.

I love the far ranging topics of the shows and also the unique British take on problems and issues that effect all nations and cultures. It gives a fresh perspective on topics that have become the realm of dogma in American society. I tend to listen to both these shows as I drive around on client calls or as an educational moment when I am in the kitchen cooking dinner. As an audio podcast, it perfectly fills those 2 podcasting niches for me.

Like In Our Time, I highly recommend Thinking Allowed as a large part of any self-directed educational program. We should all be learning something new every day and this show is a great way to do it!

Check out more info on the In Our Time web site at BBC Radio 4

What are some of your favorite Subscriptions? Share them here in the comments!

Previously highlighted on Subscribed:

News: Amazon To Produce 6 Original Comedy Series Pilots, Viewers Decide Which Shows Survive

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Amazon Studios, the online retailer’s department responsible for sourcing scripts and developing original video content, today announced the development of six original comedy series pilots. When production is completed, the series will air on Amazon’s Instant Video platform, which delivers video content like TV and movies to users’ set top boxes, phones, tablets, and computers.

[…]

Here is a list of pilots to look forward to on Amazon:

Alpha House – Alpha House was written by Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury, Tanner ’88). Alpha House follows four senators who live together in a rented house in Washington DC.

Browsers – Written by 12-time Emmy-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum (The Daily Show) and to be directed by Don Scardino (30 Rock), Browsers is a musical comedy set in contemporary Manhattan that follows four young people as they start their first jobs at a news website.

Dark Minions – Written by Big Bang Theory co-stars Kevin Sussman and John Ross Bowie, Dark Minions is an animated workplace series about two slackers just trying to make a paycheck working an intergalactic warship. The pilot will be produced by Principato-Young (Reno 911).

The Onion Presents: The News – The Onion Presents: The News is a smart, fast-paced scripted comedy set behind the scenes of The Onion News Network that shows just how far journalists will go to stay at the top of their game. The Onion Presents: The News is from The Onion’s Will Graham & Dan Mirk (The Onion News Network, The Onion Sportsdome).

Supanatural – Supanatural is an animated comedy series about two outspoken divas who are humanity’s last line of defense against the supernatural, when they’re not working at the mall. The series, written by Lily Sparks, Price Peterson and Ryan Sandoval, will be produced by Jason Micallef (Butter) and Kristen Schaal (The Daily Show).

Those Who Can’t – Written by Andrew Orvedahl, Adam Cayton-Holland and Benjamin Roy (Grawlix), who were discovered through Amazon Studios online open door process, Those Who Can’t is a comedy about three juvenile, misfit teachers who are just as immature, if not more so, than the students they teach.

Read the entire article

News: Google releases new YouTube Capture app for iOS/iPhone/iPad

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Just saw a Google+ post linking to the announcement of this new YouTube Capture app for iOS. (Film and share videos instantly with YouTube Capture for iPhone and iPod touch) It is designed to allow you to quickly capture videos, add stabilization and color correction and then upload it to YouTube. Additionally, it also can send links to Google+, Facebook and Twitter announcing your upload. 

I just did this quick test of the app. The lighting was a little low, but it is a Real World Example of how the app would work in general use.

 

Can’t see the video above? Watch “YouTube Capture Test Video” on YouTube

Download the YouTube Capture from the iTunes app store

Podcasting/New Media Advocacy Group – A Public-Facing Group Designed to Promote Podcasting and New Media Content to the Public

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Podcasting/New Media Advocacy Group – A Public-Facing Group Designed to Promote Podcasting and New Media Content to the Public

One of the things I have always found lacking in the Podcasting Community is a public advocacy group dedicated to promoting podcasting (and other forms of New Media such as YouTube Channels) to the general public.

While this group, and others, do a good job of podcasters supporting each other, we all seem to be left on our own wen it comes to introducing our shows to the public, as well as the concept of New Media in general.

With advances like the AppleTV, Roku, Boxee and smart TV’s, it should be easier than ever for podcasters to get their shows before the non-technical public who are just interested in good content. I have often said that one item required for podcasting to grow into a more powerful medium is to “get on the TV!” By this I don’t mean get purchased by a television network, etc, but rather “get on the box” that is in nearly everyone’s home already.

In that regard, I am proposing the creation of a New Media Advocacy group specifically to promote podcasting and New Media to the general public. If there are other interested people, we can set up some online structures to start this journey and begin got move forward as 2013 begins.

I can offer some more thoughts on this topic if people are interested. It is something that has been on my mind since 2004.

Interested? Let’s start a conversation!

WordPress Wednesday: WordPress 3.5 is released!

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Wp logo

The latest version of WordPress press, 3.5, has just been released. Following my usual WordPress Wednesday, it’s time to look at your blogs, update your plugins and try out the new 3.5. 

For a complete list of new features and other changes, visit the WordPress Codex.

A few of the changes…

New Media Manager

  • Beautiful interface: A streamlined, all-new experience
  • Create galleries faster with drag-and-drop reordering, inline caption editing, and simplified controls
  • Insert multiple images at once with Shift/Ctrl+click

New Default Theme – Twenty Twelve

  • Simple, flexible, elegant
  • Mobile-first, responsive design
  • Gorgeous Open Sans typeface
  • Uses the latest Theme Features

Admin Enhancements

  • New Welcome Screen
  • Retina-Ready (HiDPI) Admin
  • Hide Link Manager for new installs
  • Better accessibility for screenreaders, touch devices, and keyboard users
  • More polish on admin screens, including a new color picker

…and much more!

Real World Example: Lorilyn Salamanca hosts “Foundations for Healthy Generations” on Hawaii Public Access

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Lorilyn salamanca

Lorilyn Salamanca has been a close friend of ours since she was completing her Master’s Degree at nearby Cal State Northridge (CSUN). She was originally the student and friend of our friends, Helen and Enrique, but quickly became a close friend in her own right.

Lorilyn has heard me preaching the New Media gospel for years now, and I have been coaching, consulting and cajoling her to use her own talents to get the word out about those issues which most concern her. Since moving to Hawaii over 8 years ago, she has worked for the WIC program, helping underprivileged families raise healthy kids.

Just today Lorilyn let me know that she had stepped up her New Media “visibility” — as I have been pushing her for years — and is now the host of “Foundations for Healthy Generations” on the Hawaii Public Access channel, ‘Olelo. Like all good Public Access programs, ‘Olelo also makes all their shows available, on demand, from their web site. They can also be easily shared and embedded in blogs and other web sites.

It is so great seeing Lorilyn extend her influence using a combination of traditional media and new media on the island. I wish her great success! This is exactly the type of Real World Example I would love to see other’s pursuing.

Foundations for Healthy Generations - Episode 4

Get Microsoft Silverlight

Can’t see the video above? Watch it here!

Watch more episodes of “Foundations for Healthy Generations” with Lorilyn Salamanca

Is that a production studio in your pocket? – Logitech’s New WiFI webcam works w/ iPad/iPhone/Mac

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So, it looks like Logitech has been watching a lot of uStream and a lot of Google Hangouts lately. Their new webcam, the Logitech Broadcaster ($199 US) , is a WiFi connected webcam that allows for secondary angles during your web stream. It can also record that second angle to be used for a later edit in iMovie. The Logitech Broadcaster can be controlled from an iPad, iPhone or your Mac and you can use a combination of all the available cameras in your stream or recording.

 

 

Here is a video from Logitech showing off some of the features.

Can’t see video above? Watch “Logitech Boradcaster” on YouTube.

 

The case of the Logitech Broadcaster does double-duty as a magnetic base for the camera, allow you to position it where you need. It doesn’t look like it has a traditional tripod mount, but that is a little hard to see from the video and pictures provided.

If you are looking to take your web streams and video productions to another level, the Logitech Broadcaster could be an interesting piece of kit to add to your gig bag.

News: New Media Expo Announces Scholarship for Content Creators #NMXU #NMX

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Nmxu logo

New Media Expo Announces Scholarship for Content Creators #NMXU #NMX

There’s no denying New Media Expo offers valuable learning opportunities. With almost 90 educational sessions presented by the leading experts in new media content creation, podcasters, bloggers and webTV and video producers always return home inspired and ready to put what they learned to good use. We love that our attendees take time to share with us that we’ve provided such a valuable educational opportunity, but we also hear from content creators who would love to attend our event but can’t get here for a variety of reasons.
We’re about to make it easier for one person.

Throughout the month of October, we’re accepting applications for the first ever (and hopefully not the last) New Media Expo University scholarship. Offered as part of our new New Media Expo University (#NMXU) educational project, this scholarship will provide a complete educational experience at NMX in Las Vegas from January 6th through 8th 2013 for one lucky recipient.

[…]

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News: Google Releases New YouTube App for iPhone and iPad

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Youtube app

As promised when Apple announced they would no longer include their YouTube app with all iOS devices, Google today released its new YouTube app. As I expected, it provides a much better YouTube experience than Apple’s (older) YouTube app. In fact, I stopped using that app months ago and switched over to using the mobile web version of YouTube as it allowed me access more features and provided a better overall experience.

After using the app for an hour or so today, I can say I like it! It is clean, functional, streams video well over 3G or Wifi and generally does what I want it to do. My list of subscribed videos is neatly present in a format very similar to that used on the Google+ App with large thumbnails and a bit of descriptive text.

Download the new YouTube app from the Apple App Store

Here are a few screen shots of the new YouTube app

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News: New Liveblog plugin for WordPress turns any post into auto-updating liveblog

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This news just came through my RSS feeds. It seems that Automattic, the developer of the WordPress blogging site and software, want to make it a bit easier for bloggers to “liveblog” events. The new WordPress.com VIP Liveblog Add-On allows bloggers to write entries, including text and graphics, directly from their site to users pages. These pages are then automatically update for anyone who js monitoring the liveblog.

Wp liveblog

Liveblogs are often seen around breaking news stories and events like Apple product announcements. More an more, bloggers are covering these events live and want to get the word out as quickly as possible. This new plugin makes it simpler than ever before. 

Here are some bullet points about the new plug-in directly from the WordPress.org web site… 

Post updates right from the front-end of your site (no need to use the /wp-admindashboard)
Viewers of your Liveblog get new entries served to them instantly and automatically, without needing to refresh their browser.
Your authors can drag-and-drop photos right into the Liveblog area, without needing to navigate to separate browser tabs or windows.
There’s no need for a separate site dedicated to liveblogging: every post can be a liveblog, even existing ones.

You can download the Liveblog plugin directly from WordPress.org

Article: How To Create A World: Skyrim’s Director On Building A Never-Ending Fantasy

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Interesting article. I am collecting articles like this to share with my son who has entered the Tech/Game program at his new high school. I had been wondering myself how you went about creating a game as complicated as Skyrim and this article is a good place to start. I am trying to give him a good understanding of all the work — and all the different types of work — that go into creating a large commercial game.

How To Create A World: Skyrim’s Director On Building A Never-Ending Fantasy
By: Kevin Ohannessian

Skyrim

The fantasy world of Skyrim is notable for its scale and level of realism. Game director Todd Howard explains how his team at Bethesda Game Studios approaches the creation of a world.

[…]

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