Transpecific Media

The American Society of Media Photographers is hosting a free symposium on Sept 27 at NY TimesCenter on Sustainable Business Models: Issues & Trends Facing Visual Artists.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear and discuss with leaders about shifts in the industry and new trends in the visual arts marketplace.

Henry Oh from Transpecific Media will be joining the following guests on the panel Sustainable and Ongoing Creator Compensation from 1.15 – 3.30pm:

• Kevin Fitzgerald — CEO, Copyright Licensing Agency (United Kingdom)
• Rob Haggart — Editor, A Photo Editor and former director of photography for Men’s Journal andOutside Magazine
• Stephen Mayes — Managing Director, VII photo agency

Click here to register online for the ASMP Symposium for free.

One of the widely-expected changes with iOS6 came Apple’s new Maps app.  As it tries to distance itself more and more from rival Google, the most recent change to the default navigation app has been met with overwhelming disappointment.

One of the major irritations with iPhone navigation opposed to its Android counterparts was the lack of turn-by-turn navigation.  Apple tried to respond to this with Siri integration and 3D maps – however many users have noted many accuracy issues and significant loss of details in metropolitan areas.  Even worse, Apple has completely eliminated transit directions, forcing users to use other apps if they wish to navigate public transport options.

Time will tell if Apple’s mapping system, which relies heavily on 3rd party information from sources like OpenStreetMaps, can meet expectations that users have come to expect with Google Maps; but for now Apple is playing a desperate kind of catch up.

For now, users can entertain themselves with the 3D option (which is surprisingly good) and access Google Maps through Safari.  But it’s not the prettiest of solutions.

Apple fans are in for a busy week – this week not only sees the launch of the anticipated iOS6, but the iPhone 5 as well.

iOS6 doesn’t offer any breakthrough updates, but there are some noticeable changes.  Take the new Passbook.  In it’s quest to Apple-fy well, just about everything, iPhone users will soon be able to consolidates everything from coupons, loyalty cards and even boarding passes to sporting and movie tickets.

Currently only a handful of companies are available with the initial launch of Passbook, but if things go Apple’s way, soon that number will be much, much more.

For users who have drawers and wallets full of old loyalty cards and who want to make a quick purchase, this will soon be the way to pay.

In response to the upcoming and widely-expected release of Apple’s iPhone 5 later this month, a Chinese company has responded for those who can’t wait that long.

Coming from Goophone is its version of the iPhone 5, which it’s calling the Goophone I5. First, it runs Android – but don’t expect to get the latest Jelly Bean update – instead it will ship with 2.3 (Gingerbread). Second, the screen size is the same as the iPhone 4 – contrary to rumors of the official iPhone 5 having a 4-inch 16:9 screen.

Lucky buyers can pick up their Goophone I5 for a cool $219 from here, and even add an Apple logo to the phone when purchasing.

While Apple has been busy tackling Samsung in courts around the world, Goophone and its “iPhone5″ remain untouched for now, though not without some laughs.

The new Mac OS X app Flutter attempts to bring motion-controls to your Mac – and it does a pretty good job of it, though its current capabilities are unfortunately limited. Reminiscent of the Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move, users can use gestures from up to 6 ft. away that are picked up by your Mac’s webcam to control in-app controls.

But don’t expect platform-like versatility just yet.  Currently Flutter is limited to playing/pausing iTunes, Spotify, VLC & Quicktime. But it’s a fun and different way to do so, not to mention highly entertaining for any watching. Future Flutter updates are said to include Windows & Linux versions, and more gesture commands such as skipping songs, volume control and muting..needless to say, the Flutter team is hard at work!

Free Windows Beta version with next song gesture was just released on 1 September, head here to get it. Mac users can get the beta version with next song gesture at https://flutterapp.com/next.