Author: David Cochran

professor, geek, nerd, husband, dad

Changing Photography Forever? The Lytro Light Field Camera

Consider the possibilities of the Light Field Camera:

  • Point. Shoot. Edit.
  • No need to focus.
  • No shutter lag.
  • Capture all the light around your subject.
  • Then edit and focus AFTER the fact.

Lytro, the company behind this technology, has raised $50 million in investment to get this camera into production. (Read more at AllThingsD.)

Will it be a hit?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Check out the photo above — click to refocus — and see what you think.

Then see more photos in their online gallery.

And see the explanation of their technology and a preview of key features of the upcoming light field camera.

Mobile Apps Surpassing the Web?

for the first time ever, daily time spent in mobile apps surpasses desktop and mobile web consumption.  This stat is even more remarkable if you consider that it took less than three years for native mobile apps to achieve this level of usage, driven primarily by the popularity of iOS and Android platforms.

via Mobile Apps Put the Web in Their Rear-view Mirror — June 20, 2011 — Flurry.com

Fantastic Mac Productivity Apps in One Great Bundle

Fantastic Mac Productivity Apps in One Great Bundle

[UPDATE: THIS DEAL HAS NOW EXPIRED]
envato-freelance-mac-app-300x250

I’ve had several pieces of productivity software on my list for awhile now. Envato just rolled a bunch of them together into a fantastic bundle.

Normally I can find reasons to pass on a bundle, but not this one. It includes too many apps I’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on:

  • 1Password — safe, secure password management
  • Billings — professional billing for anyone
  • TextExpander — the highly touted typing shortcut utility (a favorite of David Pogue)
  • WriteRoom — distraction free writing software
  • Arq — online backup utility
  • LittleSnapper — screenshot and website capture utility
  • Radium — convenient internet radio player
  • Alarms — intuitive task management — integrates with iCal

The deal lasts until June 29.

View the Envato Freelance Mac App Bundle

WordPress Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies – A Roundup

I will be updating this post over time with a collection of resources on making creative and effective use of Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies in WordPress.

Here goes:

How To Build A Media Site On WordPress — Smashing Magazine Series

Using the WordPress Media Uploader in Your Plugin or Theme

WordPress Media Uploader Screenshot

If you would like to use the WordPress Media Uploader to enable users to upload images into your WordPress plugin or theme, this is discussed in a few places online:

In addition,

Mobile Phone Browsers will Outnumber Computer Browsers by 2013

From Gartner’s 2010 report:

By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. According to Gartner’s PC installed base forecast, the total number of PCs in use will reach 1.78 billion units in 2013. By 2013, the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will exceed 1.82 billion units and will be greater than the installed base for PCs thereafter.

Mobile Web users are typically prepared to make fewer clicks on a website than users accessing sites from a PC. Although a growing number of websites and Web-based applications offer support for small-form-factor mobile devices, many still do not. Websites not optimized for the smaller-screen formats will become a market barrier for their owners — much content and many sites will need to be reformatted/rebuilt.

via Gartner Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2010 and Beyond.

HTML and CSS for Beginners: Great Free Resources

HTML and CSS for Beginners: Great Free Resources

HTML Dog.com Screenshot

Here’s a great list of free places to learn the basics of HTML and CSS for those wanting to get started:

Additionally, we would recommend this new video tutorial series: Web Development from Scratch — from Nettuts+.

For a free intermediate level resource, see The MDC (Mozilla’s Doc Center).

Many thanks to the folks who put together this list in their send-up of W3schools.com — a site to be avoided. See W3Fools – A W3Schools Intervention.