Recently Nokia have unveiled an amazing prospect, announcing a 41-megapixel-camera phone. Nokia have taken a colossal step forward in mobile technology. They have set their own bar on this one. Nokia have even backed up this great feat with more amazing technology within the phone itself.

The iPhone 4S has up until now been the top trump card when it comes to a camera phone. It features a high definition 1080p 8 Megapixel camera which is quite an achievement. Let’s see if it’s pole position on the market will be affected with the release of the new Nokia.

*Image from http://www.t3.com/news/41mp-nokia-808-pureview-uk-release-date-and-price-revealed

Nokia 808 Pure View

This phone’s 41-megapixel camera is a breakthrough in smartphone photography, however anyone who is a budding photographer will know that it’s not all about the number of megapixels. It seems after reading about this amazing camera that Nokia are not aiming to shoot the biggest images. Rather, their aim is on keeping as much detail as possible in the different shots the phone will take. Once a shot is taken you can zoom in up to three times with no loss of detail. This makes each photograph appear as one huge image, providing much more scope for any desired editing.

The Nokia 808 Pure View shoots full 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. The video includes the same zoom feature as with taking a normal photograph allowing zooming whilst keeping the same quality. It is also possible for the video camera to be paired with Nokia’s Dolby headphone technology that changes sound into surround sound. This means it is great for making short films and the possibilities are endless for a film-maker. Nokia also promises ‘CD quality’ sound recording which adds for professional sounding video.

*Image from http://techpp.com/2012/02/27/nokia-808-pureview-41-megapixel-camera-but-runs-on-symbian/

Of course it goes without saying that a 41-megapixel camera needs a lot of storage space to store all those high quality photos. Nokia thankfully seem to have been working hard with their Pure View technology that ensures the photo files sizes are kept to a minimum size. The Nokia 808 Pure View comes standard with a 16GB memory card and can be expanded to 48GB.

            *Image from http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-iphone-4/

Apple iPhone 4S

Since the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple has been promoting it’s new and improved camera as a primary feature. The next few paragrahs below will give a bit more scope into whether the Nokia’s 808 Smart View is a contender to the current market leader.

The iPhone 4S has an 8 Megapixel camera. Apple may be implying that there are so many other cameras phones on the market that have high megapixel counts (Nokia 808?) when in reality not that many are needed for great picture quality. However the important thing to note with lots of megapixels means that all those pixels have to be packed into such a small place resulting in image quality problems. Apple claim that they have got it just right with their camera. As with the Nokia 808 Smart View the iPhone 4S can shoot 1080p HD video. This again is a great feature and they have also implemented their very own ‘video stabilization’ which is great.

*Image from http://www.tested.com/news/heres-what-makes-the-iphone-4s-new-camera-so-much-better/2963/

Apple say their new camera in the 4S allows 73% more light to enter the lens which is due to what they call ‘next-generation backside illumination’. With this camera more light means better performance, better quality pictures with much more clarity. What this new backside illumination feature does is flip the sensor over so light strikes the parts of the camera that are sensitive to light. This means the light impacts the receptive parts immediately without having to first go through a lot of circuitry.

Apple have also aimed to make the camera loading time as quick as possible. They say that in fact the 4S camera is 1/3 quicker than the camera from the previous iPhone 4. The lens of the 4S is f/2.4, which is half a stop better than the iPhone 4. This allows much more light to hit the sensor, which again adds to the overall 73% more light. The iPhone 4S is light and therefore the camera could tend to be very shaky and wiggle around when taking pictures and video. The new processing chip (A5) helps with the image analysis for this making it much quicker and able to process higher quality images. Apple seems to have designed the image processor around the hardware and vice versa. This congruence of technology works well which results in producing better battery efficiency.

Which to go for?

The release of the new 41 MPL Nokia 808 is a shrewd marketing ploy by Nokia to appeal to the vast numbers of people that rank image quality at the top of their phone purchase decision.  Hats off to Nokia’s marketing team for making this move as it’s already got the tech circles and general press/media talking about the product release.

The truth however, is that once you reach an image size of 3MB anything larger does not make a significant difference in quality when printing standard size photographs.  So having a 41MP camera is great but will not make much difference if your intention is not to print anything larger than a 7×5 print.  Therefore the iPhone 4Swill take equally good quality pics as the Nokia 808 for the majority of users.

But, where the new Nokia 808 really excels is in its’ digital image quality for power users with a need for deep zoom capability.  The Pureview technology represents a major step forward for mobile technology and allows users to zoom into an image with no loss of quality to an amazing level of detail.  This announcement will be music to ears of anyone with an interest in digital image or movie editing.  Of course many factors come into the decision making process when buying a phone, from operating system, aesthetics, display area, apps available etc..  But as someone with a passion for quality digital photography the Nokia 808 gets the thumbs up from me!

Nokia 808 Smart View

iPhone 4S

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Footinthedoor.info

The new web portal www.footinthedoor.info will provide a one stop shop for graduates to access the latest job details, look at videos from past graduates on their experience and interact with other graduates to share knowledge and information. The social hub within the website will also give current graduates and alumni the opportunity to further engage with one another, raise discussions and share best practice through a dedicated Facebook page.

My Background

Having graduated in 2011 with a degree in Interactive Multimedia Design, I applied for a post online with Media Lightbox, a cloud-based digital asset management system that enables businesses to store, share and manage their files online.  The position was for the role of Web Interface Design Coordinator as part of the FUSION programme.

I discovered InterTradeIreland’s FUSION programme online, when searching for employment.  I was amazed at the number of SMEs throughout the island working with InterTradeIreland to find high quality graduates.  The posts advertised were for a range of jobs in various sectors including IT, Science, Engineering, Energy and Pharmaceuticals.

On researching the position at Media Lightbox further, I realized the huge benefits that the FUSION programme had to offer over working for a larger organization.

I was hired by Media Lightbox in the Summer of 2011 and have been working to co-ordinate the development of the Media Lightbox user interface and improve quality control.

Benefits of FUSION

All FUSION positions are with small to medium sized companies across Ireland.  They offer access to research and development facilities in a leading college or university, a Diploma in Business Management at Smurfit Business School and the opportunity to gain excellent industrial experience through a structured and planned programme of work.

Training is funded by the FUSION programme and I have been working with an IT specialist from Dundalk Institute of Technology.  The Business Management course at Smurfit Business School improved my knowledge of business strategy, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and human resources management.

This Postgraduate Diploma has enabled me to see the bigger picture in the business rather than the purely creative aspects of my role.

Managing a FUSION project greatly improved my business skills and I would recommend that all graduates regularly visit the new footinthedoor website to check for vacancies in their sector.

Further Reading:
http://www.momentumni.org/PR-and-Media-Centre/News/90-new-jobs-on-offer-through-InterTradeIreland-s–.aspx
http://www.intertradeireland.com/newsevents/news/2012/name,10776,en.html
http://www.techcentral.ie/18386/intertradeirelands-fusion-sparks-success-for-graduates

Need to send large files? Get a 30 day free trial of Media Lightbox and backup files online, send big files and manage your digital media more effectively.

The new update featured in today’s blog shows  a new  way to edit multiple contact at once. Before this update the user would have to individually edit contacts. Now simply go to contacts,  click and hold ‘ctrl’ (windows) or ‘cmd’ (mac) and simply select the desired contacts for edit. Then click ‘edit selected’ at the bottom right of the screen.

Using this feature enables the user to edit multiple contacts; whether or not they can see the other contacts and groups in the account and if they can file share. This simple feature easily boosts the efficiency in editing multiple contacts to the users liking.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!

Sharepoint has its strengths, but plenty of weaknesses that businesses should be aware of when considering a file management and collaboration system.

In this post, we will outline the core functionality of Sharepoint and explain how a digital asset management system such as Media Lightbox can overcome the frustrations of a Sharepoint system.

What is Sharepoint?

Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 was designed to help people work together and collaborate on projects. Sharepoint is a web application platform, consisting of several programs and web technologies that work together to make it easier for staff within large organizations to share ideas and expertise. Sharepoint enables business owners to manage intranet, extranet and internet sites on one single platform.

Sharepoint 2010 is an Enterprise solution for companies requiring a customizable and secure infrastructure. It was first released in 2001 and has grown to become a complicated and costly document management solution, in comparison to cloud-based digital asset management system, such as Media Lightbox.

Before looking at the disadvantages of Sharepoint, it’s important to understand Sharepoint’s six core capabilities:

• Sharepoint Sites – Sharepoint makes websites where users can become “contributors” and edit them.
• Sharepoint Communities – Users can upload to Sharepoint and edit sites
• Sharepoint Content – Files are saved to a Sharepoint Library
• Search Sharepoint – Find files and sites on Sharepoint
• Sharepoint Insights – Generate reports from a sharepoint database
• Sharepoint Customize – Composites are Sharepoint Add-ons

These six pillars describe the fundamentals of Windows Sharepoint services. In reality, the number of features is simply overwhelming and business owners are charged for a wealth of additional options that their staff is unlikely to use.

Employees require Sharepoint training and companies often hire a team of support staff to deal with the number of requests.

Highly trained implementors, administrators & technical support staff are required to deploy & run it (Sharepoint), which all add to the total cost of ownership
Dion Hinchcliffe
ZDNet, 2009

Sharepoint vs

Sharepoint was initially designed to be a simple, affordable service for businesses, but has since been packed with unnecessary and complex features, which require weeks of training and a large budget.

Before studying the many advantages of digital asset management over Sharepoint (for online backup, to send big files or for project management), we must first look at the disadvantages of a Sharepoint System.

Installing Sharepoint

Sharepoint must be installed on an in-house Sharepoint server. This must be purchased and a network established, to give employees the ability to collaborate on documents and websites. The server should be powered 24 hours a day. As well as these expensive hardware maintenance costs, a Sharepoint License must be purchased as well as Client Access Licenses (CAL) for each user.

Costs can range from $5000 to over $50,000. You can find a Sharepoint cost calculator here.

The following table from sharepointforum.com will also give you an idea of the price of Sharepoint:

The costs illustrated above don’t include the price of Sharepoint setup and training. Sharepoint configuration can take weeks of tweaking to solve permission issues and Sharepoint customization.

How to Use Sharepoint

Sharepoint is a costly and excessively complex system to install and maintain. It has relatively weak support for the most common Enterprise 2.0 application types, particularly blogs and wikis, but also social network features. While the desktop versions of Sharepoint Designer and Invisio feel cluttered and outdated, the system hasn’t adapted particularly well to the rise of mobile browsing, with the number of users accessing the internet wirelessly set to surpass wired Ethernet access by 2015.

Users of Sharepoint will require training, even in the most frequently used features such as file sharing and file management. Microsoft is renowned for poor software support and Sharepoint is no exception, with reports of support staff being overwhelmed by Sharepoint support requests.

Sharepointhosting.com and Sharepointhostingprovider.com have some fantastic video tutorials for showing new users the basics of Sharepoint.

• Sharepoint Hosting Video Tutorials
• Sharepoint Hosting Provider Video Tutorials

Performance Sharepoint

Sharepoint was designed to work with Microsoft Office, Windows and Internet Explorer. If Sharepoint is upgraded, the entire stack must also be upgraded.

Sharepoint is a pure Microsoft server stack that closes off any opportunities to substitute third-party databases, Web servers, and other products for Microsoft components.
Forrester
2008

Limited use of applications can work well internally, but should a company setup a Sharepoint portal, open to travelling team, clients and partners, using various devices, operating systems and browsers, Sharepoint performance and access cannot be guaranteed.

A study by AIIM and Information Architected reveals how most users use Sharepoint to share files, when there are much more effective ways to do so.

Microsoft are dedicated to making Sharepoint a secure service with Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS) working to make Sharepoint sites protected from hackers and viruses.

While this shows Microsofts dedication in this area, it does slow the system down significantly. These security measures can affect Sharepoint access speed, delaying program startup and producing Firewall popups and error messages.

Sharepoint Update

Microsoft releases a new version of Sharepoint every 3 years. It’s easy to understand why businesses get frustrated waiting for Sharepoint updates, when they are paying for an expensive ongoing license.

Microsoft is purposely leaving the development cycle to three years before they evaluate any new hardware on the market and whether they should invest in specific applications for these devices. Users are therefore unlikely to be able to access Sharepoint from new smartphones, tablets and any other hardware released within the 3 year cycle.

Sharepoint Alternative

Businesses do not need to spend thousands on collaboration and file management software to work more productively. Furthermore, the majority of alternatives do not require an in-house server or any additional hardware. These are cloud-based solutions that work on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. They are inexpensive, and data is backed up off-site, so should there be a fire/flood/emergency in the office, data will be safe and recoverable. Below are the advantages of online digital asset management over Sharepoint.

• Data backed up offsite
• No training required
• No additional hardware required
• Works across most devices
• Not as costly
• Viewers are typically free
• Storage space is easily customizable
• Updates are frequently released

Benefits of a System Like Media Lightbox

Media Lightbox is a digital asset management system that focuses on the features users require most when managing their files online. The system is easy to use and gives users the power to backup files, send big files, request artwork approval, watermark images and manage folder permissions. Users can access their files from any computer, smartphone or tablet.

Files can be marked as restricted with usage notes attached and shared securely online. Companies can customize Media Lightbox with their own logo and welcome images. Locating files is simple with the powerful metadata keyword search tool.

Media Lightbox was recently named the “Best Emerging Company” in the Seedcorn Business Competition and the system is trusted by thousands of companies worldwide.

Get a Media Lightbox Enterprise account for FREE! Get a 30 day free trial and begin using Media Lightbox today to manage your files, contacts and folder access more effectively.

Mountain Lion OS X – New Features

Messages

This is a new app that is built into the OS.  It more or less replaces iChat with a few small changes. The focus now, is on a more general feel for all of your messages. People who use iMessage often are going to love this. Apple say that there are over 100 Million registered iMessage users and over 26 Billion iMessages have been sent since the launch of iOS 5 in October.

Messages seems to have taken the best bits of iMessage, including delivery and read receipts. You can drag and drop both photos and videos from OS X to send them to iMessage users on iOS. FaceTime is another great feature that can be used now from inside the app. Group messaging is another new feature.

Reminders

Anyone with an iOS 5 device should  know by now what the reminders app is and does. Basically it’s apples version of a to-do list. Previously such a feature appeared in the calendar in OS X, however this is not the case anymore as it takes the form of it’s very own app. Also thanks to iCloud every reminder set will be synced between all your devices (iOS and OS X Mountain Lion) so you can totally keep in touch with all your reminders.

Notes

This is the same idea as reminders, Apple has seemingly taken an iOS app and built a self standing version for OS X. The new version includes a few nice touches. You can now drag and drop photos and it’s also now possible to pin a note to the desktop (sticky notes). Likewise with reminders this is all synced with iCloud bringing all your notes to all your devices (iOS and OS X mountain Lion).

Notification Center

One of the star features of iOS has been push notifications, and as you may have guessed they are making an appearance in OS X with Mountain Lion. This will appear on the right of any screen you’re on, hidden until triggered (you can configure how you wish to trigger). Triggering will shift the desktop to the left and show all notifications in a way very similar to iOS.

Two types of push notifications feature in Mountain Lion, alerts and banners. Alerts pop up and provide the option of ‘Close’ or ‘Show’. Banners show up for five seconds in the upper right of the screen then fade away, however you can decide the configurations for each. Currently only Apple apps have this feature, however in future many speculate any app from the app store will have access to it.

Share

In iOS, it’s easy to share something from just about any core Apple app (Safari etc.). Sharing will now feature in Mountain Lion (right facing arrow button as seen in iOS).

For example, if you use safari you will now be able to send things like the web address with just two clicks. This is also the case for photos, videos and documents. Unlike the notification centre, the share feature isn’t limited to just Apple apps. Vimeo and Flickr have come on board, thus bringing many more possibilities to play with.

Twitter

Just like iOS 5 Twitter integration is coming to OS X Mountain Loin, meaning you can tweet just about anything from just about anywhere all in two clicks. The interface will look familiar if you have used the iOS 5 integration, now you’ll be able to attach photos, web links and even Mac App Store links.

You will be able to sign-in to your Twitter account from the settings area in Mountain Lion. Twitter seems to be designed to work in the background for when you want to share something, this means there is no way to view your twitter stream etc. But Tweet notifications for @replies will eventually come to the Notification Center in Mountain Lion.

Game Center

This is another feature that will take the  jump from  iOS to OS X. Apple say their gaming network has over 100 Million users combined with 20,000 Game Center enabled games for iOS. Though as impressive as Mac to Mac gaming will be, the most amazing feature that comes with Mountain Lion will be the enabling gameplay between Mac to iPhone, Mac to iPad and Mac to iPod. This will revolutionise gaming for Apple.

AirPlay Mirroring

This is probably the most exciting feature coming to Mountain Lion because it is simply incredible. You cannot only push things wirelessly like movies to the Apple TV from your iPad or iPhone. Now with Mountain Lion, you can push your entire OS X experience as well. You can simply access this feature by looking in the menu area of your Mac and clicking the new airplay option in order to push your entire desktop to an Apple TV. This will ultimately turn your TV into a massive monitor.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!

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You can try this service completely free of charge for 1 month.  If you enjoy it, do nothing and Netflix take care of the rest, they will automatically continue your membership for as long as you choose to remain a member. The membership is a month-to-month subscription that begins at sign-up. It is extremely easy to cancel your membership at any time online 24 hours a day. Another great fact is that there are no cancellation fees again showing the confidence Netflix have in their service, although there appears to be no refunds for partial months.

There are currently more than 20 million streaming members globally. Netflix have risen to be the leading online subscription service streaming films & TV episodes over the Internet. Members can instantly watch unlimited films & TV episodes streamed to their TVs and computers. There is a great selection of media on offer, including hundreds of films and TV episodes available to watch instantly on TV via a PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Smartphones, Tablets and computers.

For a great price of £5.99 a month, you get unlimited films & TV episodes instantly over the Internet to your TV or computer. There seems to be no commercials, and you can pause, rewind, fast forward or watch again as often as you like (depending on Internet speed!).  Another confident move from Netflix is providing a free app for iPhone and iPad as well as Android or Windows phone and tablets. Simply download and log straight in to your account. However only one of all the devices listed above can be watched at one time on your Netflix account.

Netflix claim to have instant streaming on all their shows and films, which is true. In reality though the speed of your broadband Internet speed will determine how fast you can access the Films and TV episodes Netflix have to offer. The content is streamed over the Internet, so you don’t have to wait for them to download. Unlike Spotify there are no commercials and you can pause, rewind or fast forward as often as you like.

Netflix offer 3 video quality settings to help you manage your data usage: Good (up to 0.3 GB/hour), Better (up to 0.7 GB/hour) and Best (about 1.0 GB/hour but up to 2.3 GB/hour when streaming HD content). The default setting is “Good” and you can change the setting any time you want – your price will remain just £5.99 a month. Netflix streams a little bit of data as a buffer each time you start a film or TV programme. Frequently starting and stopping films and TV programmes will result in a small increase to the amount of data Netflix streams to you per hour. In most cases this will be less than a few minutes’ worth. You may find it helpful if you check with your Internet provider or mobile carrier for information on possible Internet data usage charges.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!

A prime example McLuhan used what a light bulb, ‘a Light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, it is a medium that has a social effect i.e. a light bulb enables people to create spaces during night time that would otherwise be enveloped by darkness’. He describes a light bulb as a medium without any content. His most controversial point on the subject of mediums was his belief of content having little effect on society, in other words, it did not matter if television broadcasts children’s shows or violent programming the effect of televisions on society would be identical.

The book is in fact the source of the well-known phrase ‘The medium is the message’. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend to any media enthusiast.
You can find the book on Amazon and similar sites; also I found an interesting part of the book discussed on YouTube, shown below.

All of our Media Lightbox video tutorials can be found here http://www.medialightbox.com/video-tutorials.

Please find these 10 new video tutorials below:

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!