Though they could've fooled me, Barnes & Noble apparently isn't content to let ebooks and digital mags be a two-horse race between Amazon and Apple. They just made a big hire in Jonathan Shar, from Time, who's going to be running their "Digital Newsstand and Emerging Content, Barnes & Noble.com" division. Though that division name tells me they're already kind of fucked. [MediaMemo]
This is a guest post by Andreas Kambanis. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.
I’ve always considered logo’s the realm of big multinational companies. Companies like AOL or Amazon who have thousands of dollars to throw at new designs.
Therefore, despite being constantly told about their importance and the value of branding for my blog I’ve ignored the advice. I’ve put it to the back of my mind and decided to focus on other things. After all logo’s are really expensive aren’t they?
Well, these days that isn’t really the case. Websites like 99designs can provide a new logo for as little as $150. The premise is that you run a competition and then designers from all over the world submit their entries. Within a week you can be up and running with a great new logo.
After avoiding the decision for ages, I took the plunge and launched my logo design contest on 99Designs. The result is a logo that gives a good first impression and was completed just in time to be used in my London Cycle Routes eBook. More importantly, as the eBook is likely to be featured in various big publications, the logo sends the important message of professionalism and this could make all the difference to the success of my site.
If this sounds pretty cool and you are considering it for your website, then here are five things you need to know before heading over to 99Designs.
After you have had your first 10 entries on 99Designs you are able to “guarantee your prize”. This means that you have to choose a winner. This might sound scary at first especially if you only have 10 entries and you are not a big fan of them. However, guaranteeing the prize greatly increases the number of entries you have. This means there is a far better chance of finding the right logo. It also motivates you to get the most out of the designers and find the perfect design for your site. Don’t be scared, press the guarantee button!
At the start of my competition I didn’t have enough entries and the entries I did have were not very high quality. I was at risk of having to pay for a logo I wasn’t entirely satisfied with. This was a massive worry for me. My solution was to look at other competitions and find designs I liked. I then contacted the designer behind them and invited them to join my competition. In total I think I contacted around 10 designers and 4 of those joined my competition. In the end the design I chose was off one of the designers who I invited.
Try as hard as you can to articulate what you want from the logo. Should it work on a dark background? Do you want to see simple designs? Should the logo be placed on the left of the text? For me it was “do I want to promote more the sporty side or the simple enjoyment of cycling?” I failed to mention this at first but it was easy to make the change later. A good idea is to look at some of the best performing competitions and take a look at their descriptions. It is best to just launch the competition and then make improvement as designs come in. Don’t delay indefinitely, launch now even if it isn’t perfect because you can always change it later.
It is a tough task providing new feedback every day. Especially in successful competitions with 100 or more entries. Sometimes you just think “bluh, can’t be bothered!” Or perhaps that is just me?
However, good feedback is essential. Think about how the logo makes you feel and what you do and don’t like. What would you like to see in the next version? Should the designer just scrap this one? You should also use many of 99Designs features. Rate other designs with stars so designers know what you want to see more and less of. Leave comments at the bottom about the direction of the competition.
Also don’t be afraid to ask friends. Talking it through with others is one of the best ways to argue about the merits of different designs. I was pretty much 100% set to go with one design when my friend told me it looked like a Ferris wheel. She was right!
As I approached the last 24 hours I considered ending the competition early and going with a design I was fairly satisfied with. Luckily I decided to keep going and I’m glad I did. The last 24 hours tend to be very active with a lot of entries. This is the time when you should be focusing on the competition the most.
Bonus tip: Future proof your design. What happens if your name changes from DailyBlogTips to WeeklyBlogTips? Make sure the designer provides you with the editable Photoshop files and Adobe Illustrator files.
If you follow these tips in a week you could be proudly showing off your logo to your followers. Good luck to you!
About the Author: Andreas is one of the most successful cycling bloggers in the UK. You can read more from his on his blog, London Cyclist.
Last week I mentioned the new JOOS Solar charger that had been unveiled promising to produce 20X more power than other personal solar chargers on the market. That device is aimed at charging mobile phones and MP3 players. If you want a solar charger for larger items like your notebook or netbook, the Sunforce 50044 offers up to 60W of power.
The Sunforce 50044 60W solar charging kit is available now on Amazon for $299.99 with free shipping. The device is designed for RVs, cabins, homes, boats, and other uses where it can be mounted. The design is weather proof and the maker claims it can survive hailstones traveling as fast at 50mph.
The kit includes four solar panels each producing 15W of power, a 200W power-inverter, 7-amp solar charge module, and a wiring kit for installation. The device has blue LEDs that show when it is charging. The kit will produce enough power for most netbooks and lots of notebooks and other devices out there. You will need some space to install this kit with dimensions of 54″ x 12″ x 42.2″ and about 60 pounds.
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
Solid state hard drives are increasing in popularity mainly because more are reaching the consumer market, therefore driving down prices. But most are still a bit pricey. Active has a new 1.8-inch set, however, that’s a bit more affordable if you don’t mind forgoing storage capacity.
The new 1.8-inch Turbo ZIF line are available in 32GB and 64GB sizes. Both drives can achieve 100MB/s read and 85MB/s write speeds. Sure, they aren’t the fastest in town or the largest, but at $169 and $299, they are among the most affordable 1.8-inch options. [Amazon via PC Launches]
Open-ended toys are the best. That's why construction sets like Lego, or the previously reviewed Kapla Blocks, or Zomes, are perennial favorites. Their simple, durable, reusable parts build an infinite number of complex creations, providing endless hours of play. The best construction systems will last many lifetimes and are generally worth their modest investment, unlike most toys.
Magna-Tiles are the best open-ended construction set for very small kids I've seen. Magna-Tiles are plastic tiles with tiny super magnets embedded in their edges. Even a very small child can quickly assemble a structure that won't topple, since the magnets snap to form when you get them close to where they want to be. They come in a mix of squares and triangles that tend to "guide" construction towards recognizable building forms, which is okay since there are still many options to explore. But this small boost really aids the youngest toddlers who may have trouble with the go-anywhere blocks of Kapla. Also, the tiles are large, too big to swallow, so safe for wee ones.
We have a set on a our living room coffee table and I notice that adults love to build with them as well since you can erect a cool structure in only a few minutes. Everyone is an architect at heart.
Magna-Tiles aren't cheap. With 8 rare earth magnets per piece, each tile costs about $1. They are pretty unbreakable, so they should outlive you. Get the transparent variety -- they are like stained glass.
Magna-Tiles
100 piece transparent set
$110
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Magna-Tiles
Apple's iPad could seriously disrupt the e-reader business of Amazon, Sony and others, according to a survey last month that queried American consumers on their purchase plans.
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Pandora was saved by the iPhone, and now it has ambitions to turn public, Claire Cain Miller at the New York Times reports.
The music streaming service was profitable on $50 million in revenue last year, according to Claire's reporting. An analyst tells her it could do $100 million this year. Revenue comes from advertisements, subscriptions and payments from Apple and Amazon.
See Also:
It looks like a lot of products unveiled at CES 2010 are finally getting some release and shipping dates. Now the MSi Wind U160 netbook is also now shipping in the US.
Selling for as low as $379.99 (before taxes and shipping), the MSi Wind U160 netbook is a worthy contender for those shopping around for a netbook right now - especially considering it promises up to 14-15 hours of battery life.
You might have to search around though, as Newegg and some other sites are already shipping, but Amazon is still only on pre-order mode.
Just to keep in mind, some of the specs on the MSi Wind U160 include:
It’s available in black and gold, although based on the photo, that’s a very dusty dark gold. (I don’t like it when colors in PR photos can be misleading, especially when shopping online.)
The Case-Mate Hug is a wireless inductive charger, a lot like the Powermat or Palm's Touchstone. Inductive chargers let you plop your gadget down onto a special surface for charging, rather than fiddling around with wires--and the Hug is one of the best out there.
Inductive chargers aren't magic, however. They work via a magnetic field, but gadgets (aside from the Palm Pre Plus) don't have the required magnetic parts, so you need to use a case. It's a little lame, but if you were planning on using a case anyway, Case-Mate's solution essentially adds wireless charging (which is undeniably cool) for just a bit more money.
The Hug is compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS only, for now--other models, including BlackBerry, will be coming out in a few months. The Hug's got a lot of great features, like smart charging, which switches the power off once your iPhone is fully charged to conserve battery life. It's also significantly better-looking than the Powermat, and is actually cheaper once the Powermat's required case is factored in (about $30 cheaper at Amazon). I played with the Hug at CES this year and was very impressed with the build quality of both the case and the dock; they've got a nice solid heft and feel to them, and the case feels like it actually would provide some protection.
The Case-Mate Hug is available starting today online and at most retailers. The kit sells for $100, and includes the dock, case, and a screen protection kit.
This week’s first power-strip comes from Woods Ind., supplier of cable-based products to, well, anyone. The six-outlet strip is rated to 1625-Watts and offers a ground-pin for each plug. This is, of course, not reason enough to get onto Gadget Lab. What the strip does have is a big foot-operated power-switch so you can stamp down under your desk and kill everything simultaneously.
Unfortunately, it sports a rather nasty “comedy” illustration of a foot on the switch itself. On the other - um - hand, it only costs $21, and has the added advantage of lacking the blinkenlights that so often blight anything with a power-plug. I’d suggest you don’t plug your actual desktop computer into this device, especially if you are one of those obsessive, foot-tapping types (actually, maybe you should hook up your delicate machine to this hair-trigger power-breaker as punishment for your annoying habit).
For the kind of junk that you should switch off, but leave powered up because you are too lazy to reach under the desk, this looks like a great solution.
Woods [Coleman Cable]
Woods Ind 6 Outlet Power Strip With Foot Switch [Amazon via Lifehacker]
Since writing BANK 2.0 I've been meeting constantly with banks who either have such huge organizational barriers to rapid innovation or conceptually still don't appreciate the need for rapid change around customer. In fact, this is a global problem. Banks know how to run banks, but as they are pushed more to be something more akin to software houses, design houses, and integrators, their organizations are just not built for new priorities.
Think of it this way, when Amazon first launched on the scene, other booksellers like Barnes and Noble were extremely resistant to the concept of online book sales because they were so heavily invested in a physical distribution model. So much so that B&N attempted to acquire the biggest wholesaler of books that Amazon used to put a halt to their success. The FTC and pressure from other independent booksellers scuttled that deal, and thus B&N were somewhat forced to attempt to mimic Amazon's approach online to prevent further loss of market share. Having said that, today only 13% of B&N's revenue comes from the online arena.
In many ways the physical distribution model is even more embedded within most banks, dominating not only the organization structure, but even the way the manufacturer and positioning of product is carried out. With time to market for new products measured in months or years, and with a dominance of metrics still based around channel silos and their revenue performance, it's going to be even tougher for most banks to adapt to a psyche of continuous customer experience innovation around the internet, mobile phones, new media, branch automation, and P2P payments. Thus, despite the shroud of regulatory protection that is afforded by a banking license, we see third-parties whose innovation threatens to disintermediate banks quicker than ever.
Take PayPal's success. PayPal's commercial launch in late 1999/early 2000 went largely unnoticed by banks. Bank's believed that customers were unlikely to put in their credit card details for a non-bank online company due to the risk of fraud and abuse, but today PayPal accounts for between 27 per cent and 50 per cent of online payments. No bank would attempt to argue today that PayPal is not a competitor in the payments space, but card issuers and banks failed to garner the sort of momentum in innovating the payments
The need for innovation is rapidly speeding up, and to be fair some banks are scrambling to respond to interest in mobile banking and social networking, but most are finding the reality of innovation difficult to master. The key stumbling blocks to innovation in the customer experience remain the long-held metrics for business unit performance being based around channel silos and revenue gains within those silos, along with organizational structures that still favor 'retail distribution' over 'alternative channels'. Are banks doomed to fail?
For banks, the key must be to utilize their unique platform for transactional capability, and to extend their products to be as pervasive as possible. However, banks just don't have the bandwidth to be everywhere they need to be as quickly as they need to be. Is there a way banks can extend their reach, but not be solely reliant on their own organization.
Let's talk about Apple. Apple iPhone launched in 2007, but already it has over 180,000 applications available, they've sold over 36 million units in the last 2 years and have more than 1 billion downloads annually from their iTunes platform. Yet Apple develops just a very small fraction of the Apps available for the iPhone - the developer community does by far the majority of app development.
Apple chose an open SDK approach to create rapid interface innovation for the iPhone, why can't banks do the same?
In respect to channel innovation, why can't banks take the same approach? If banks created APIs (Application Program Interfaces) to hook into their transaction and product sales platforms, as long as their APIs looked after the security and compliance requirements, then third-parties could actually create the new interfaces, applications, bundled product and cross-sell opportunities that banks need to create for their customers.
As so much of the interaction between customers and the bank these days is done through electronic interfaces, let's open up the development of these interfaces to innovative developers and the community. Let's build collaborative social networking sites that allow customers to define product parameters and benefits, but where the bank executes the actual product application through their back-office. Let retailers of big ticket items integrate personal loans directly into their sale experience, airlines integrate travel insurance into their booking engine, and real estate companies integrate mortgage product into their property search engines.
Developing point-of-impact opportunities where bank product or services are integrated into customer experience is going to take more than an innovative bank. It's going to take an open capability, a library of APIs, automated credit risk assessment and straight through processing. Once in place, however, these tools will enable almost unlimited innovation of the customer experience without the constraints of a bank organization chart, channel silos or outdated financial metrics.
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Few places in my travels have made as lasting an impression on me as those I’ve visited along Highway 89. There is not a week that goes by that my mind doesn’t wander to places I’ve visited on Highway 89. The landscapes, people and small towns that make up this portion of the United States are amazing. One of the few people I’ve come to know that appreciates this stretch of highway and the U.S. National Parks it travels through even more is Ann Torrence.
Ann Torrence just recently released an excellent book titled, “U.S Highway 89: The Scenic Route to Seven National Parks”. Having traveled 15,000 miles in her documentation of this amazing route she has captured not only the beauty of the scenery, but the soul of the highway comprised of by the many small towns, down to earth people that call this area home and the awe inspiring U.S. National Parks found along it. Highway 89 stretches from Nogales, Arizona to Piegan, Montana intersecting Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. If Ann’s writing doesn’t transport you as you read her book, her photography most certainly will. “U.S. Highway 89″ strikes a balance between well-written prose and solid travel, wildlife and landscape photography. What I found most refreshing about Ann’s book is that it highlights the communities along Highway 89 as much as it documents the iconic National Parks found along it.
If you’re looking to explore new territory or revisit familiar ground covered on past trips you’ll find great satisfaction in “U.S. Highway 89″
Where to Buy It
“U.S. Highway 89: The Scenic Route to Seven National Parks” can be found at Pictureline.com, Amazon.com and signed copies from Sagebrush Press.
Learn More about Highway 89 Online
Technorati Tags: photography, book, review, Hwy 89, Highway 89, Ann Torrence
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Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
Recommended Reading: U.S. Highway 89 by Ann Torrence
It’s odd to see a technology device named after a very classic piece of jewelry, but if it helps keep your cords cleaned up it’s worth a shot. Despite the name, it doesn’t attempt to hide that it is there to help manage your earphone cords. Instead it just keeps things nice and simple. It doesn’t look like much of anything and within is all the storage you’ll need.
Once it’s flipped open, there’s a spot to wind the cord around. After it’s all wound up, the end for your ears comes out the top and then there is a small hole for the other end to come out the bottom. It’ll keep you from having a lot of excess cord. Plus, it’ll keep them tidy while the set of earbuds are in your pocket. For one of these it’ll only cost you $4.19 through Amazon.
Source: Gizmodiva
New price drop. Get the Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 Megapixel Digital Camera for $150 - $80 instant savings = $70 shipped at Amazon. The FinePix Z30 is a point-and-shoot digital camera that features 10.0 megapixel still image capture, 3x optical zoom, 2.7-inch color LCD screen, electronic image stabilization, AVI video recording at up to 30fps, built-in flash, auto focus, face detection, red-eye reduction, auto scene recognition, image editing support, multiple shooting modes, and high speed USB 2.0 and A/V interfaces. This compact digital camera features 50MB internal memory along with support for SD, and SDHC memory cards for additional media storage. It ships with a rechargeable battery and carries a full year manufacturer's warranty.An eReader That Looks Like a Big iPhone is a post from Chris Pirillo
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Shenzhen Million-E Culture Industrial Co. Ltd. is showing a new e-reader based on e-ink with built-in 3G, WiFi and even with resistive touch screens.
This video was filmed by Charbax during the CeBIT 2010 consumer electronics show in Hannover, Germany.
Would you like to cover conferences, trade shows, and events in exchange for promotion in our YouTube channel and social media networks? Email me to facilitate the process!
Now, whilst I’ve not tried one of these new Giotto’s Vitruvian tripods, they certainly look quite good – what’s your opinion?
Giotto's tripod folded
Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the new Giotto’s Vitruvian VGR tripods are designed to offer photographers not only a truly lightweight and compact tripod, but a fully functioning monopod and ball head too.
The Vitruvian tripods have been designed with “reverse technology” legs so that when collapsed they fold through 180 degrees to “surround” the tripod centre column and head – folding down into a unit that measures only 40cm long.
There are two VGR models available, both with a maximum operating height of 157cm and a weight capacity of up to 4kg. The VGR9255 is manufactured using aluminium tubing and weighs 1.5kg while the VGR 8255 uses 6 layer carbon tubing and weighs just 1.28kg.
The tripod castings are made from a forged aluminium alloy for strength and the quick action twist leg locks require only 1/8 turn to lock and unlock – making it quick and easy to set the tripod up. VGR tripods are fitted with a compact ball + socket head that offers smooth and precise movement, incorporates independent pan control and has a quick release system.
Giotto's VGR tripod and head
You can also unscrew the tripod leg, remove the centre column and head then join them together to produce a full size monopod with a maximum operating height of 162cm. The Vitruvian comes with its very own carry bag and has a 5 year warranty, snazzy huh!
I will try to get hold of a sample and give it a good solid going over…
Sime
Tags: Giotto's VitruvianPost from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.
Giotto’s Vitruvian tripod, true genius
Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! The irony of a game with a title of FINAL Fantasy reaching its 13th franchise entry (not to mention numerous spin-offs and add-ons) is not lost, yet the high quality of most of the games helps fans cut Square Enix some slack. Those fans are being tested again with the release of Final Fantasy XIII, which is coming for both the XBOX360 as well as the PS3. The ‘tests’ in this case are related to the fact that the graphics on the XBOX360 version are significantly scaled back from the PS3 version due to the PS3 using the much larger Blu-Ray disk for storage (for those keeping score expect a Force 5 Nerdstorm on Wednesday). Also, the game itself has been criticized for having very slow pacing and being extremely linear and removing many of the key features of previous games.
Related posts:
"The reaction from comic book industry officials to Amazon’s massive graphic novel discounts is… they’re buying lots of omnibuses today. I have had comic creators who generally snub their noses at me, instead pledge their unborn children in gratitude for posting these two links. But as every slot on the Amazon Top 100 is getting filled with Marvel hardcovers (the top nine ordered titles are all Marvel) , as well as massive collections of Invincible and Walking Dead, big blocks of Madman and Bone, and Dark Horse’s Nexus Archives, Tarzan, Turok, Herbie, Eerie and Creepy, and a massive amount of EC Archives, no one has been saying if this is a glitch or a market-wide promotion that has somehow missed out DC Comics. Well, as Avatar’s Gravel: Never A Dull Day (Signed Limited Edtion) slips from $89 to $14.99 and the Gravel: Major Seven hardcover gets the same list price, I asked William Christensen of Avatar Press and owner of this website if this was a promotion. He told me; oh god no, that is like selling them at print cost!...
- RAPattonthese deals are InSaNe!
- RAPattonI picked up 3 books so far, but I may be tempted to grab more.
- Kyle HebertI just ordered several Omnibi. Got the confirmation e-mail from amazon.
- Anthony SanchezI've ordered Criminal Omnibus, Bloom County Signed, Gravel signed, Gravel 2, Powers collection 2, Powers Collection 3, Captain American Omnibus, Madman Omnibus, somebody please stop me!
- RAPattonI ended up grabbing the Secret Wars Omnibus, Wolverine Omnibus, Vol. 1, Daredevil Omnibus, Vol. 1, The Death of Captain America Omnibus, and The Complete Invincible Library, Vol. 1
- Anthony SanchezI have The Complete Invincible Library, Vol. 1; it is nice. I have been debating Secret Wars Omnibus all day. Supposedly, they are fixing it now. I am eyeing all five Walking Dead Hardcover Collections too, 'cause they are purdy
- RAPattonsome are starting become unavailable, but there are still plenty to grab
- RAPattonYep, they are almost all fixed now
- RAPattonI ordered a total of 22 books, all stuff I wanted to get and almost bought recently after I sold off the single issues. My orders haven't been processed yet though so I don't know if I'll get any of them. Fingers are crossed though.
- James FergusonI ordered about 10
- RAPatton
The Acer Aspire 5738DZG is officially the worlds first commercially available 3D laptop – and you can get your hands on one now, thanks to Amazon.
This brand new, portable powerhouse will allow you to enjoy all your favourite 3D movies and add another dimension to your gaming on its crystal clear 15.6 inch HD display, which uses a special polarised layer to deliver the awesome 3D effects. Inside the case there’s a generous 500GB hard drive, Pentium Dual Core processor, 4GB of RAM, Dolby Surround Sound, ATI HD Graphics, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium.
The Acer Aspire 5738DZG will set you back £540 from Amazon, but that also includes two pairs of trendy polarised 3D specs to go with … [visit site to read more]
Filed in categories: Laptop Gear, News, Spotlight Gadgets
3D Laptop now on sale from Amazon originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 7, 2010 at 9:53 am.
One of the challenges in building web sites is coming up with interesting ways of presenting functionality that aren't the same old thing, but are still usable. I came across two sites recently that met this challenge, one well, one badly.
Glyde lets you buy and sell books and DVDs, kind of a cross between Amazon and eBay. Their site is clean and elegant, and although they've chosen a number of unusual presentation techniques, everything works intuitively, sometimes better than you expect.
The home page shows a single horizontal list of popular items. Click one, and you get detail, but the image glides smoothly from its place in the list to the detail box that pops up. Type in the search box, and you get instant feedback in a drop-down list, but it's a complex categorized list that looks more like a product list than a drop-down. Wait around on the page without doing anything, and the horizontal list will scroll along by itself, offering more items for you to consider.
The whole site has a crisp well-thought-out design that's a pleasure to use.
On the other hand, I found HBO's site a confusing mess. The whole thing is in Flash, so it's difficult to link to individual pages. The schedule grid pops up as a window on the page, and then confounds me at every turn. The current time is displayed on a scroll thumb, which confusingly has arrows on it. Click the arrows, and the entire grid is replaced with a spinner progress wheel, and re-displays. Except the time hasn't changed. You have to drag the thumb, but no matter how little you drag it, the entire window refreshes rather than smoothly scrolling, so you have to re-orient yourself each time. The scroll bar has other times and dates displayed on it, but those aren't clickable either, they're just positions you can drag the thumb to.
Click into a particular show, and the description is displayed in too-small an area, requiring scrolling, except there are no scroll bars. Turns out if you hover over the description, it will start scrolling, but you can't control the speed or direction, it just moves. Maybe moving the cursor out of the description will stop it so I can read it? No, that resets the text back to its top position.
Even when playing videos, I'm confused. There's a progress bar that reads 0% when I'm part-way through the clip, and the middle third of the bar is highlighted. The entire site looks to me like a highly-paid designer made a pile of gorgeous Photoshop files, and never considered the dynamic interactions on the site.
Amazon rolls out new Web Store for Sellers
- Chris Brogan