RIM (employee): Storm 2 with "new approach to text entry" for end 2009, early 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/rim-employee-storm-2-with-new-approach-to-text-entry-for-en/

Reputable Dutch site Tweakers has Alain Segond von Banchet, RIM channel sales manager according to LinkedIn, stating that the BlackBerry Storm followup is scheduled to launch at the end of the year or at the beginning of next. In addition, he has the phone coming to KPN, not Vodafone who had the first generation Storm locked-up under an exclusive deal. Interestingly enough, Mr. Segond von Banchet says that the Storm 2 (not the final name) will "offer among other things a new manner to input text" -- among other things meaning WiFi, presumably, as we heard before. Keep in mind that channel sales managers do not typically represent a company to the press. Nevertheless, what he's saying does jibe with previous rumors and we have no doubt that RIM is working hard to avoid the universal disdain that greeted the Storm's mushy, push-button touchscreen input.

Update: Tweakers responded telling us that Mr. Segond von Banchet was speaking on the record for RIM because there was no one from marketing at the TeleVisie 2009 Expo yesterday.

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM (employee): Storm 2 with "new approach to text entry" for end 2009, early 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds! .

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Fred Wilson: Agencies Need to Think More Facebook, Twitter, Less TV -- "earn the "media"; don't pay for it" -- http://ping.fm/6kNbf

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1000 Acres Vodka Packaging by Arnell

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/XSLbSML8C1M/1000-acres-vodka-packaging-by-arnell.html

Via Daily Icon, new work from Arnell, the same folks who brought you the new Pepsi and the new (now discontinued) Tropicana packaging:

"Elegant packaging for 1000 Acres premium Vodka. Glass vessels designed for display beyond the liquor cabinet. 1000 Acres Vodka, by Manufacturer"

Thoughts?

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Create a Faux Fisheye Effect in Photoshop [Photoshop Tip]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Bl04Vm-0nbs/create-a-faux-fisheye-effect-in-photoshop

Fisheye lenses can create some pretty novel images, but buying one can break the bank. Check out this tutorial for mimicking the fisheye lens effect on the cheap using Photoshop.

For the unfamiliar, a fisheye lens is a lens with an extremely wide angle of view. For comparison, fisheye lenses have an angle of view of 180 degrees, but the fixed 50mm lens, a staple of basic photography, has only a 46-degree angle of view. Because of the huge angle of view, fisheye lens have a significant amount of distortion—normally a bad thing, but also an artistic result for some shots, and one of the reasons people use them in styled photos and videos.

Why recreate the effect in Photoshop instead of just using a fisheye lens? A fisheye lens for a DSLR from a no-name company will run you more than $300, and easily $700 and up from a respectable company. Unless you have a huge passion for fisheye photography or a pressing business need to take wide-angle, that kind of expenditure is outside the scope of most photography hobbyists.

Helen Bradley's tutorial on software fisheye effects requires just Photoshop, or the GIMP, and the patience to translate the steps to suit your photos. In most cases, you'll need multiple pictures of a single scene to replicate the wide angle of view you get with a fish eye lens. Using Photoshop, you stick the photos together, clean up the edges, and then use the distortion filters to bend the photo to your fisheye-loving will. For more details and a step by step walk through, check out the link below.

Create a Faux Fisheye Image Effect in Photoshop [via Lifehacker AU]

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ImHonest Labels Offer Advanced Lost and Found [Lost And Found]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ozimU0UylrA/imhonest-labels-offer-advanced-lost-and-found

ImHonest is a lost-and-found service with a clever spin on returning your valuables with a little incentive.

Photo by Paul Stamatiou.

To get this out of the way from the start: ImHonest isn't necessarily more effective than just dropping your own homemade labels on your gadgets and hoping that whoever finds your stuff does the right thing. What it does provide is some advanced recovery options. The service works like this:

You purchase ImHonest labels from the ImHonest web site ($15 for six labels) and place a label on every item you want to register with the lost-and-found service. Then you head to the web site and register each device and the unique ID code so ImHonest knows what device corresponds to which ID.

In the event that you lose your ImHonest registered gadget and some honest chap happens to come across it, they'll see the label with the reward incentive*, call up the number, and receive instructions for dropping off your gear at the nearest UPS store. ImHonest will email you asking you if you've lost the item that's being reported as lost, you confirm, and UPS magically sends the item back to your doorstep. (Don't get too excited—you're still paying the shipping.)

ImHonest seems like a solid service, though as I said above, it's not necessarily all that much more effective than your own homespun labels—or even your digitally signed portable media. If you've already got a solid method for getting your lost gear back from an honest stranger, let's hear it in the comments.

*Incidentally, the reward for your honest: Free labels from ImHonest. I think I'd be a little annoyed.

ImHonest [via Paul Stamatiou]

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