Camera Genius 4.2 (for iPhone)

We last looked at Camera Genius over two years ago, when the iPhone's built-in camera was fair to middling at best. The latest version of iOS added some nifty camera capabilities, so it's a good time to revisit Camera Genius, now at version 4.2, to see whether you still need third-party software to get the most out of your iPhone photos. The app's capabilities fall into three main categories?shooting, editing, and sharing. As we'll see, this mature and capable app still adds to what iPhone's native Camera app can do in all three of these areas. But is it the best choice?

Shooting
Several of Camera Genius's shooting features add ways to snap the camera's shutter. Before Apple iOS 5, there was a bevy of apps that would enlarge or turn the whole screen into a shutter button, so that you could snap a picture while holding the phone away from your face, as when you take a picture including yourself. Camera Genius still offers this, but since iOS 5 added the ability to shoot with the Volume Up button and the iPhone 4 and 4S's front camera made it less critical. If you're using a 3GS or? lower, this app holds more value. One thing Genius offers that its rival Camera+ doesn?t: It lets you trigger the shutter with noise or as soon as the camera focuses on the spot your finger touches. Both offer timers.

Anti-Shake is another shooting assist. This doesn't actually add any stabilization technology to the iPhone's camera, but instead delays the shutter from going off until you're holding the smartphone still. In my testing, this worked quite well. The iPhone 4S's between-shot time is already pretty excellent, but Camera Genius lets you shoot three photos in as rapid succession as the camera allows, with one tap of the shutter. I found Camera+'s burst mode even more useful, though: Because it lowers the image resolution, it can take more pictures faster, but with, of course, lower-res resulting images.

One of the cleverer tools in Camera Genius's kit is the ability to separate the point of focus from the point of exposure, though I can't think of when this would be useful, and the capability is matched by Camera+. In fact, most of what I've mentioned before this, and much of the edits and effects I'll mention later, can also be found in the competing Camera+ app, which has an even more appealing design.

Finally, for the organizers, you can also stamp images with date, time, and location. The timestamp looks a lot nicer that what point-and-shoots are known for, with an attractive, understated white font. It's something not offered by the competition we tested, so if this appeals to you, Camera Genius is a good choice.

One shooting option that the built-in iPhone Camera app can boast but Camera Genius lacks is HDR. Though the Apple version of HDR is far from ideal, often making photos blurrier and seldom yielding and impressive result, it's still an omission on CodeGoo's part. CG does have an after-the-face Pseudo HDR effect, but that didn't do much for my test images.

Editing
Camera Genius brings all the image adjustment options we've come to expect from even rudimentary photo-editing software?cropping, brightness, contrast, colors. But it lacks more sophisticated options you find in Snapseed ($4.99, 4 stars), such as sharpening, saturation, straightening, and white balance control. Nor does Genius offer localized editing on just certain areas of a photo.

When it comes to blinging up your photo with striking effects, Camera Genius can nearly hold its own against the likes of Instagram and Hipstamatic, with options like Grime, Cracked, Lomography, Wild, and Goth. And those are just options in the Adjust settings: You get 24 more in the Effects set, including Aged, Cross Process, and Grunge. Camera+ goes it a little better in the effect department, with 27 options.

Sharing
Camera Genius offers a generous selection of sharing options. You can send photos directly to Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Twitter, or Tumblr (Camera+ subtracts Picasa and Tumblr from that list). But when I posted a picture to Flickr, it arrived with a long ugly number as the photo title.? Nevertheless, these sharing capabilities alone could make Camera Genius worth buying: The native iPhone Camera app only lets you e-mail or send to Twitter, which is hardly the top online photo sharing option. But for sharing, it's hard to beat Instagram, which boasts its own immersive social network and links to the other major ones.

Is Camera Genius a Smart Choice?
What I really wish a camera app would do for the iPhone is let you set ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Then it could really be a point-and-shoot replacement. Apple apparently hasn't made these settings available to app developers. Pity. Till these come, Camera Genius can definitely add to the process of shooting photos and fancying them up afterwards. On the latter step, though, our Editors' Choice, Snapseed from Nik, offers more options and more control, as does Camera+, which offers nearly all the shooting features of Camera Genius in a slightly better interface and more embellishment choices.

More iPhone App Reviews:

??? Camera Genius 4.2 (for iPhone)
??? Lookout for iPhone
??? StumbleUpon (for iPhone)
??? Adaptu Wallet for iPhone
??? Snapseed
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/rEUMtxB2kxc/0,2817,2398979,00.asp

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Rockage celebrating retro gaming & indie music in NorCal ...

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Get Into a Dog Fight, Blow Your Nose On Your Enemies, and Filter Up Those Photos [App Deals Of The Day]

Manipulating photos to look like they were taken with a crappy camera is all the rage these days. I can't even post a photo unless I've distressed the edges. It's a sickness. I would say I have the cure, but I don't. Instead I have an iPad app that'll really go to town on your photos. You won't even recognize the original pic when you're done. Plus, be a confused primate and take to the skies in today's app deals. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_4humdn3fRA/get-into-a-dog-fight-blow-your-nose-on-your-enemies-and-filter-up-those-photos

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Verizon: LTE is hard, y'all

Since CES 2010, Verizon has been hard at work launching 4G LTE products and expanding their 4G coverage, but it's hit a few bumps in the road as of late. The month of December was particularly bad for Verizon and its customers who have taken on 4G devices expecting the same rock solid coverage they've always had with Verizon 3G service. Verizon Wireless's VP of network engineering, Mike Haberman, took the time to break things down for GigaOm (and the rest of us via a press release) and explain a little of what has been happening behind the scenes at Verizon to cause the issues as of late.

Starting with the December 7th outage caused by a failure of its back-up communications database, Haberman then noted December 21st downtime that was caused by a portion of their IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) — which replaces the old signaling architectures used in 2G and 3G networks. Finally, the most recent failure on December 28th was caused by was caused by two IMS elements not communicating properly.

In all cases, the IP Multimedia Subsystem was the root cause but once fixed the same issues never rose once again. In other words, they were bugs in the system and presumably isolated so they a part of growing a nationwide network of this nature. "Being the pioneers, we're going to experience some growing pains," Haberman said.

Haberman isn't hiding from the issues and notes "These issues we've been experiencing are certainly regrettable but they were unforeseeable." and highlighted Verizon's goal which "is to ensure that our 4G networks meets the same high standard that our 3G network does, we’re not there yet, but we’ll get there."

So does Verizon deserve some slack here? Personal opinion really. Reality is, launching a new nationwide network is hard and some bugs are bound to be found in the system which do cause issues for many users but, you can't really place a beta tag on a network so to speak. However, you can stop introducing ridiculous fee's and messing with upgrade policies that upset customers when some are already upset with their services.

Sources: Verizon, GigaOm

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/9ZAyKdjw4FQ/story01.htm

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Worst year in decades for elephants (AP)

JOHANNESBURG ? It's been a disastrous year for elephants, perhaps the worst since ivory sales were banned in 1989 to save the world's largest land animals from extinction, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said Thursday.

A record number of large seizures of elephant tusks represents at least 2,500 dead animals and shows that organized crime ? in particular Asian syndicates ? is increasingly involved in the illegal ivory trade and the poaching that feeds it, the group said.

Some of the seized tusks came from old stockpiles, the elephants having been killed years ago. It's not clear how many elephants were recently killed in Africa for their tusks, but experts are alarmed.

TRAFFIC's elephant and rhino expert Tom Milliken thinks criminals may have the upper hand in the war to save rare and endangered animals.

"As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals are winning," Milliken told The Associated Press.

Most cases involve ivory being smuggled from Africa into Asia, where growing wealth has fed the desire for ivory ornaments and for rhino horn that is used in traditional medicine, though scientists have proved it has no medicinal value.

"The escalation in ivory trade and elephant and rhino killing is being driven by the Asian syndicates that are now firmly enmeshed within African societies," Milliken said in a telephone interview from his base in Zimbabwe. "There are more Asians than ever before in the history of the continent, and this is one of the repercussions."

All statistics are not yet in, and no one can say how much ivory is getting through undetected, but "what is clear is the dramatic increase in the number of large-scale seizures, over 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds) in weight, that have taken place in 2011," TRAFFIC said in a statement.

There were at least 13 large seizures this year, compared to six in 2010 with a total weight just under 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds).

In the most recent, and worst, case Malaysian authorities seized hundreds of African elephant tusks on Dec. 21 worth $1.3 million that were being shipped to Cambodia. The ivory was hidden in containers of handicrafts from Kenya's Mombasa port. Most large seizures have originated from Kenyan or Tanzanian ports, TRAFFIC said.

Fifty elephants a month are being killed, their tusks hacked off, in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve, according to the Washington-based Environmental Investigation Agency.

With shipments so large, criminals have taken to shipping them by sea instead of by air, falsifying documents with help of corrupt officials, monitors said.

Milliken said some of the seized ivory has been identified as coming from government-owned stockpiles ? made up of confiscated tusks and those of dead elephants ? in another sign of corruption.

"In 23 years of compiling ivory seizure data ... this is the worst year ever for large ivory seizures. 2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants," said Milliken.

Rhinos also have suffered. A record 443 rhino were killed in this year in South Africa, compared to 333 last year, according to National Geographic News Watch. South Africa is home to 90 percent of the rhinos left on the continent.

Africa's elephant population was estimated at between 5 million and 10 million before the big white hunters came to the continent with European colonization. Massive poaching for the ivory trade in the 1980s halved the remaining number of African elephants to about 600,000. Following the 1989 ban on ivory trade and concerted international efforts to protect the animals, elephant herds in east and southern Africa were thriving before the new threat arrived from Asia.

A report from Kenya's Amboseli national park highlighted the dangers. There had been almost no poaching in the park, which lies in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, for 30 years until a Chinese company was awarded the contract to build a highway nearby two years ago. Amboseli has lost at least four of its "big tuskers" since then.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_re_af/af_africa_elephants

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Vitals - Avastin slows advanced ovarian cancer's progress, report says

Two studies out Wednesday show that Avastin, a drug that is already approved for other cancers -- but is also controversial -- could help women buy more time in the battle with ovarian cancer. More from NBC's Chief Science Correspondent Robert Bazell.

Karen Rowan
MyHealthNewsDaily

For women with advanced cases of ovarian cancer, the drug Avastin adds about four months to the time it takes for the cancer to worsen, according to a new report.

Patients treated with Avastin in addition to chemotherapy had about 14 months before their advanced ovarian cancer progressed, compared to about 10 months for those in the study who were ?treated with chemotherapy and a placebo.

An early analysis of the trial's results was presented in June 2010 at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology; the complete report from the trial appeared?Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This was the third clinical trial to show that adding Avastin to standard chemotherapy treatments extends the time before ovarian cancers progress, said Dr. Carol Aghajanian, chief of gynecologic medical oncology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

"This is good news for women with ovarian cancer," said Aghajanian, who was not involved in the new study.

However, women treated with Avastin did not live any longer than other women in the study, according to the report.

The European Commission approved Avastin as a treatment for ovarian cancer this month, but it is unclear whether the drug will be approved to treat this cancer in the United States, Aghajanian said. The Food and Drug Administration will be looking at the data.

The drug, made by pharmaceutical company Genentech, is designed to inhibit the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor. It is currently approved to treat certain types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers, while the FDA recently disallowed its use for breast cancer.

Preventing cancer from worsening
The new report is based on 1,873 ovarian cancer patients who had been assigned at random to three groups. One received chemotherapy treatments along with a placebo; one received Avastin (generically known as bevacizumab) along with chemotherapy at the start of their treatment, then received only chemotherapy for the rest of their treatment; the third group received Avastin along with chemotherapy for the entirety of their treatment. The patients did not know which treatment they were receiving; neither did the doctors treating them.

The researchers measured the blood levels of a marker called CA-125 to determine whether the patients' cancers were progressing. CA-125 levels are a very early marker of worsening cancer, Aghajanian said. Levels of CA-125 begin to rise before a growing cancer is visible on a CT scan.

"They used a very conservative method of measuring progression, so we can be certain that it's meaningful," Aghajanian said.

Whether Avastin could extend patients' lives is a tricky question to try to answer with studies, Aghajanian said. At the end of this trial, for example, the patients and their doctors were told whether they had received Avastin or the placebo treatment, and it was entirely possible that those who had been on the placebo then received Avastin, she explained. Such a crossover in treatments after a study's conclusion would make it difficult to later determine whether patients who received a drug during a trial lived longer.?

Avastin and breast cancer
There are important differences between the studies of Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer and the studies of its use for ovarian cancer, Aghajanian said.

In November the FDA revoked its approval of Avastin to treat breast cancer because studies showed that breast cancer patients treated with it did not live any longer, and faced significant risks of severe side effects such as small holes developing in the intestines. The drug had been cleared by the FDA in February 2008 under an "accelerated approval" process based on promising early studies, allowing Avastin to be used for breast cancer patients while Genentech did further research.

"There was not a consistent benefit seen in the breast cancer studies," Aghajanian said. By contrast, three studies of the drug's use in ovarian cancer showed a consistent benefit.

The safety of the drug as seen in the new study "was reassuring," Aghajanian said, as was the finding that patients taking the drug reported no difference in their quality of life from patients receiving the placebo.

The rate of patients who developed gastrointestinal perforations was twice as high among those who received Avastin as among those who received a placebo, but the rate was still under 3 percent.

Elevated blood pressure was seen in more patients who received Avastin throughout the study than in those who received the drug only at the beginning or not at all.

?

Source: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9779391-avastin-slows-advanced-ovarian-cancers-progress-report-says

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