Category

technology

09.17.08

New DSLRs shooting HD video technology | (0)
Camera giant Canon just announced that their new D5 Mark II will shoot HD video. A few weeks ago Nikon's D90 hit the shelves which was all the buzz when it was revealed to shoot HD video. Though the D5's announced price, with lens, is almost 3X as much as the Nikon, both of these cameras open new doors for multimedia journalism. With an increasing emphasis on Web video, photojournalists are being pressured to carry more tools and equipment to capture a story. Could these cameras lighten the load a bit? The big question that will arise I'm sure is ...
07.01.08

Nikon D700 is ultimate piece of mojo swag journalism, technology | (0)
The new Nikon D700 mid-range DSLR looks to be the cat's meow of DSLR cameras. It seems to be the new cool for DSLR makers to make cameras with enough features for the pro, but not make it too complicated that amateurs can't pick it up and shoot photos of their feet and cat with it. The D700 appears to meet that criteria in spades which makes it a pretty good camera for the mobile journalist or solo journalist. Click the link to the Gizmodo post for a full review and a gaggle of mouth-watering pictures.
06.16.08

Video web design tutorials technology, video | (0)
Want to learn some basic Web design stuff but don't feel like slogging through a book or taking a community college class? Here are a whole gaggle (well 10 actually) of video tutorials someone linked on Mashable covering everything from basic HTML to CSS and even some PHP and other scripting languages. Check it out. Oh, and I have no idea what is up with the picture of Tony "Gazelle" Little.
05.05.08

The Monday-morning awesome Web2.0, technology | (0)
As if the last few days could not get any better, what with graduation, good times with family and friends, checks from the IRS and few other pieces of greatness that I am not allowed to mention just yet, I woke up to check this out. I am officially the #1 'Steve Mullis' according to Google. Oh yeah, it just got real.
05.01.08

Today is RSS awareness day Web2.0, new media, technology | (0)
You know the geek demographic is taking over when they are starting to make holidays out of Web technologies. I for one welcome our new geeky overlords and look forward to toiling away in their underground server rooms. But I digress. According to Daniel Scocco over at Daily Blog Tips today is indeed RSS Awareness Day. So if you or your newsroom are totally clueless about this RSS thing, what better day than today to hold a quick boot camp or primer on one of the most useful and simple Web technologies available. Don't feel like explaining it all, just send this ...
04.28.08

Where’s the multimedia tab? journalism, technology, web design | (0)
In perusing several newspaper Web sites I noticed an oddity. Many sites, though I won't mention any names, did not have a 'multimedia/interactive/data" tab as part of their navigation. For most of them it was shoved halfway down the page, sometimes even several scrolls below the main content. This is a travesty at this stage in the game. Even if your site doesn't have much in the way of interactive online content, you should already be paving the way for that content in the future. Whether it be audio slideshows, video or even just picture galleries, readers should have a direct ...
04.26.08

What would make the best news Web site CMS platform? new media, technology | (0)
Right now newspapers use a variety of tools to update their Web sites. Some use proprietary content-management systems similar to Wordpress or MoveableType, while others maintain simple, yet highly customizable HTML pages. Different sized organizations are still getting their online legs and figuring out what works best for them. None of these systems have been perfected and most continue to evolve as technology increases. Eventually, however, most major news organizations are going to have to either have in-house developers in their technology department or hire contract Web developers create a CMS platform so they can stay competitive and relevant in an ...
04.24.08

Facebook chat makes FB even more useful for journalists social networking, technology | (0)
You may or may not have noticed that social networking site Facebook recently launched its online, real-time chat service. The beauty of it is, much like Gmail chat, it is integrated into your Facebook front end with nothing to install and no changes to make. You can disable it, but it's an opt-out feature rather than an opt-in. Your "buddy list" is populated by your friends as they sign in and out of Facebook. You send them messages just like a third-party chatting client and they respond. Easy as cake (though it is a lie). What can this do for (online) journalists? While ...
04.22.08

MSNBC launches Election 2008 MySpace site journalism, technology | (0)
In an effort to tap into that ever volatile youth demographic, MSNBC has launched a MySpace page called Decision 08. Showing their age and how behind the times they are, doesn't MSNBC know that MySpace is sooo yesterday's news. Everyone knows that Facebook is the where it's at with kids today. Though I do have to hand it to them for being able to mask as much as possible that it is, in fact, a MySpace page. It almost looks like a standalone Web site, save for the always brilliant, exclamation point-laden comments at the bottom that are typical of MySpace ...
04.19.08

Twitter + ChaCha = the new Magic 8-Ball journalism, technology | (0)
It seems that Twitter has coupled with mobile answer service ChaCha to bring your...TwitterChas! OK, maybe not. But, Twitter users can now follow ChaCha and, when they send a question @ChaCha, a few minutes later you get an answer back. Interesting, to say the least. I tested it out with these gems. ME: Who is the governor of Florida? ChaCha (about 20 seconds later): Florida's 44th Governor is Republican Charlie Crist. ME: What is the capital of Wisconsin? ChaCha (it took a while longer, no one cares about Wisconsin): The capital of Wisconsin is Madison pop. 208054 (2000 US census). -- And it pointed me ...
04.17.08

CoverItLive, live blogging for journalists; Is it too much too soon? journalism, technology | (0)
CoverItLive is a , free (sort of) Web-based live blogging platform that can allow news organizations or bloggers to update, in real time, an event or breaking news story. It has been used and touted by both Newsweek and Seattle's The Stranger. From the creators: CoveritLive's web based software takes your next live blog to a new level. Your commentary publishes in real time like an instant message. Our ‘one-click’ publishing lets you drop polls, videos, pictures, ads and audio clips as soon as they come to mind. Comments and questions from your readers instantly appear but you control what gets ...
04.16.08

Find sounds with FindSounds for your Soundslides or Flash projects journalism, technology | (0)
Via Lifehacker: For YouTube videos, presentations, or even just system sounds, having the right sound effect file can make all the difference. FindSounds, a search engine focused on audio files, is a heck of a lot more convenient than typing ".wav" into Google and wading through inconsistent results. Type in what you're looking for and specify parameters, and the results are offered in playable previews and waveform diagrams. I almost always found relevant results in the 10 or so test searches I performed, and being able to see how long the sound helps winnow down results when you're hunting just the ...
04.15.08

Entry-level cameras for the online journalist or mojo journalism, media, technology | (0)
Gizmodo has an excellent review of four, entry-level DSLR cameras that are hitting the market soon. The four models are from Sony, Canon, Nikon and Olympus, the current digital camera heavyweights. Having at least a modicum of camera skills is essential for an online journalist, so these sub-$1000 cameras are a great addition to any arsenal. I currently use a Canon Digital Rebel-XT, which is about as entry level as it gets, though I do need to upgrade my lens. If I ever get to the point where I need go bigger I'll probably go with one of the upper-level Canon ...