Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category

I avoided paying attention to QR codes. Some of my Twitter friends were obsessed with them and I hadn’t investigate them enough to see the full value. Now I do.

QR Codes are a great way to connect mobile devices to print, signage, clothing, and much much much more.

• > Jump to the “How to Add A QR Code To Your Blog Video

Best Uses

Some of the best uses of QR codes come from online companies that are part of the mobile application ecosystem.

The Appsgeyser mobile development site for Android apps uses QR Codes to prompt developers/users to download apps.

OpenAppMarket is a mini app store for HTML5 applications. You can get to the apps from the URL, by posting via phone, or by accessing the QR code.

Best Buy’s QR code labeled price tags. How many times do you go buy something then wish you had a computer so you could look things up? Happens to me all the time. I don’t carry my laptop around while shopping but I always have my smart phone.

Photo credit: Travelin’ Librarian on Flickrlicense

QR Code Scanners

I did a little Twitter crowdsourcing a couple of weeks ago and asked tweeps what their favorite QR Code readers were. I expected to hear crickets but QR Code lovers came out of the woodwork. These are some of the apps they mentioned.

1) Qrafter - Free: Not bad but the ads are pretty obvious and it has a couple of extra steps to actually get to the URL. The app had trouble recognizing some on screen codes that my favorite ones were able to read.

2) Microsoft Tag reader – Free: Had trouble recognizing tags. I stopped testing it after it missed a couple of tags.

3) AT&T Code Scanner – Winner! Free: This app is great and it’s the one I started using on a regular basis. I also used it to test out my Create Your Own Code application.

How To Add A QR Code To Your Blog

Related reading:

Who’s Really Scanning All Those QR Codes? [INFOGRAPHIC] on Mashable

The MyMic Facebook application lets you post audio updates to your Facebook profile or onto your friend’s Wall. You can post up to five seconds for free and there are paid options to post longer messages.

I ran into the application’s creator, LeaAnna Hernandez (@MyMicApp on Twitter), during a #LATISM Twitter chat. I had asked the Twittersphere if there were any Latino/Latina startup techies out there and LeaAnna “raised her hand.”

The application caught my eye because:

1. It is super easy to use. There’s a tutorial at the end of this post just in case you have questions.
   
2. Your friends don’t have to install anything to listen to your messages.
   
3. My Facebook friends started asking about it once I posted my first message. I love attention.
   

I also liked the recent press release where LeaAnna says,

“Sometimes we don’t want to be on camera. Maybe we’re having a bad hair day or the lighting isn’t the most flattering. With MyMic, none of that matters. Users, musicians, celebrities can easily record updates in their pajamas and no one would know the difference”.

I caught up with LeaAnna for an interview

JPL: Why did you select audio?

LH: I come from the radio industry…specializing in advertising. So i wanted to build an app that could marry radio with social. Businesses run commercials on radio stations. So I built the app for businesses to be able to run “social commercials” on Facebook.

JPL: I think I saw some stats that only one in a thousand YouTube users actually records and uploads a video. What do you think that ratio will look like for audio?

LH: I think that there are a lot of people that are camera shy and don’t want to be on camera. It literally is a production, having to get the right angle from the camera…nice lighting….good backdrop maybe.

With audio, it’s much easier and faster so I am inclined to think that it would be better but it’s still so new that only time will tell.

JPL: I tested the application and was able to post to my profile and to a friend’s Wall. Is there a way to post MyMic messages to the Facebook pages that I administer?

LH: In 2 weeks we are adding the feature to post recordings on Fan pages. I “like” your thinking.

JPL: Do you see businesses using MyMic the same way they use radio? Will they even start off using the same on air commercials?

LH: I think some brands will initially use their same radio ads. But others will get more creative.
For example, one advertiser I know is looking to create a promotion where they ask their friends to come up with a new slogan for the brand and record with MyMic. (This is another reason why the post on fan page functionality is important ). And they have an incentive attached to the promotion.

How does MyMic work?

MyMic is extremely easy to use. All you have to do is:

1) Go to the MyMic Application page on Facebook.

2) Click on the “Start Recording” button.

3) The little Adobe Flash Player Settings alert box will appear. Click on “Allow” to give the application permission to access your microphone.

4) Now you’re ready to record. To post a five second audio message for free, just click on the little red record button and leave your message.

5) Click on the “Publish” button and you’ll have the option to set a post Title and add a Message.

6) Decide if you want to post to your Facebook Profile by clicking on the “Save and Publish” button or post on a friend’s Wall by clicking on the “Send To A Friend” button.

Once you click on the “Save and Publish” button, you’ll get the “Post To Your Wall” dialog box.

From the “Post to Your Wall” dialog box you can decide who can see this post. You can choose to make it visible to Everyone, Friends and Networks, Friends of Friends, Friends Only, or Customize things.

Your Facebook friends can now listen to your recording without having to install any kind of application.

If you’d like to send the audio message to specific friend, you can select the “Send to a Friend” option when you publish. When you do this, you’ll be able to search and click to select the message recipient. This will post the message to their Wall. (The application does not allow you to post private messages at this time.)

I like the way the application allows you to filter then select friends. As you type in letters, the little picture list below filters your friends. This is especially useful for people who have a ton of friends.

At this time, you’re only allowed to post to the Wall of one friend and there’s no option for tagging other people.

Final Thoughts

I like the simplicity of the MyMic app and already have a lot of ideas on how to use it for Facebook promotions. I think this will be a nice utility for companies, Facebook page admins, and heavy duty content creators. It will be interesting to see if removing the “bad hair day” factor, as it exists with video, will encourage “regular” Facebook users to take on a new medium. As LeaAnna says, “only time will tell.”

Ok, it’s time to test out MyMic Application then report back here to leave your feedback. Will MyMic catch on? Was it easy to use? Did your Facebook friends like it and ask about it? Come on back and share with the other readers!

When I first saw Shel Israel’s (@shelisrael) tweet and the iTunes store description off of his link, I was skeptical, as was Shel. Visual translations via an iPhone app?

Word Lens is the real thing.

I just conducted a quick test on the iPhone app.

On-screen text message:

iPhone screenshot of the Word Lens translation:

The application has a “Pause” button which takes a still of the translation. In still mode, the translated words become hyperlinks which allows the user to click through to see the translation of the specific word.

How much is this app?

The actual Word Lens application is free and it comes with a Word Reverse and Word Erase tools.

The English-to-Spanish and the Spanish-to-English translation engines are $4.99 each. To access those libraries, you click on the white oval at the top of the screen (it will read “Demo:Reverse Words”) and you are taken to a Languages screen which shows the installed items and the “Available to Download” items.

VIDEO: Word Lens in action – Santa Paula, CA

I photographed the “Smile at the camera” sign at the La Unica bakery then showed the owner how it worked. She was amazed by the translations.

Notes

* I’d rate the translation accuracy around 70-80%.

* The app doesn’t work very well with full pages of text but it will parse through and try to translate what it can.

* The app doesn’t have Spanish regional settings so it won’t know whether to translate “potatoes” to “papas” or to “patatas.” There are hundreds of such words that vary in usage from country to country.

* According to the iTunes listing, the requirements are:
– Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation). Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Is the Word Lens application a game changer in the translation world or is this just another app?

The new Tweetdeck experimental version uses the “User Streams API” from Twitter and it is turbo charged. It’s so fast that my All Friends stream of 7,724 people is almost a blur.

This version is in limited release but you can request access by going to the Tweetdeck site, logging into your Tweetdeck account, and submitting the request. I received an email back from Tweetdeck a few hours later.

If the video demo below scares you, don’t request the new version yet.

This tweet from @Gorillamonk made me want to download the new version and see just how fast it was.

Here’s a view of my Tweetdeck stream. It hauls booty.

Are you likely to download the new version after watching this video? Or does this look out of control fast?

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YouTube announced a new HTML5 video player that works on the Apple iPad device. The player is smart enough to know whether it can display Flash or if it has to switch to HTML5 mode for a non-Flash enabled device.

I tested the new player against the regular YouTube player on an iPad and the new player still needs some work. The new player takes a longer to load, has some funky behavior (a duplicate window appears below the player), and the screen is bouncy when the player isn’t set to fullscreen.

I can see why the new player isn’t available from the regular video page yet.

Furthermore, in order to get the HTML5 version to load, site visitors must have gone to the YouTube HTML5 page and opted in as an HTML5 Beta tester.

This player is basically in development mode. I wouldn’t rush out and start changing all your embed codes but it is worth testing out, especially if it can help you with an existing issue.

This is sample code to embed the new player:

<iframe type=”text/html” width=”640″ height=”385″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID” frameborder=”0″>

“VIDEO_ID” is the ID of the video which looks like an encrypted string. For the videos below, the ID is “FmWNwJRVK_g.”

I embedded a video using the new HTML5 player and also using the standard YouTube player to test on the iPad. I did this for my test but feel free to do the same and test it via your desktop/laptop and via your mobile device or iPad. Remember to opt in to the YouTube HTML5 Beta if you want the player to show up…or you’ll only get a black box in its place.

The New HTML 5 player

The standard YouTube embed method

What do you think? Is the new player useful yet? Will this solve any browser or platform issues for your videos?

The secret is out. Video blogging is a powerful way to engage blog readers. Video adds another multimedia dimension to a blog, it helps create a closer bond to readers, it reinforces your blog’s message, and it is great for expanding your message to other social networks, especially YouTube.

I started messing around with Web video back in 2005 while testing out the kids toy, the Vidster. At the time, I had no idea how to embed the video into a site or blog (I wasn’t on YouTube until 2006). Now, things are much easier and there are a variety of ways to get started.

Getting Started

If you don’t already have a YouTube account, do yourself a favor and go create one now. I’ll add you as a friend and subscriber if you drop me a message (I’m @cinemaluna on YouTube). YouTube is a top 5 global site and has its own rich ecosystem. And, you don’t have to “live there” to get many of the benefits.

Equipment

Dude, I dont’ even have a camera.

If you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can start recording video right now. You don’t even need a camera. You can go to Screenr.com, and do a screen recording of your computer. I do this all the time to create video tutorials and it’s a great way to add video to your site. Screenr allows you to record, embed, tweet out the video link, download the video to your computer, and upload the video to YouTube. Screenr has a 5 minute maximum on screencasts.

The process of recording your screen is called “screencasting.”

Here’s a screencast I did for a WordPress.com tutorial. This video content was actually featured on the WordPress.tv site.

Or, you can go to Animoto.com and create a video based on photos. Animoto uses an ingenious system that can combine photos, video, and text then “automagically” generate the video by matching the multimedia elements to the selected soundtrack. Here’s a simple video I created using pictures (plus a micro video) from my “staycation” a few months back. The free version of Animoto limits the video to around 30 seconds.

Wait a minute, I have a little video feature in my digital camera. Can I use that?

Many newer digital cameras have a video feature. You might only be able to record a few seconds but that’s all we need to get started today. I have an “old” HP Photosmart 320 digital camera that I bought years ago and even that has a 30 second .AVI video feature. You can use a site like http://media-convert.com/ to convert from older and non-YouTube supported file formats to a more current format. Note: I haven’t actually used Media-convert.com so use at your own risk.

In case you’re counting, this is our third way to get video up to our blog today.

I also have an old-school digital video camera. But I’ve only used it to edit things in my computer. Will that work?

If you have the right cable connection for your older digital video camera, you’re in business. I have a JVC digital video camera (model GRDVL517U) that I bought around 2000, that’s 5 years BYT (Before YouTube). I can plug in the digital video cable and connect it to my PC and have access to all the video files.

If you’re going to use an older camera like the JVC then you may run across issues like missing cables, lost mini-dv cassettes, and missing user manuals. If that is the case then you can still find many of those items, but the older the digital video camera, the higher the price you’ll have to pay. My JVC user manual is over $10, and that’s from the JVC site.

That would be the fourth way to add video to your blog.

Wait a minute, we gave my kid a little camera a while back. Would that work?

There are actually several toy cameras out there that record digital video. Cameras like the Vidster by Mattel and RipRoar’s Creation Station sold for around $80 and they both record digital video. I purchased the Vidster, uh, for myself, back in 2005. Both of these toy video cameras come with cable connectors and you’ll need them to access the digital video files. You may also need to download the software for each.

Even though there are two cameras here, I’ll only count this as one way. We’re up to five ways to get video onto your blog.

I do have a web cam, but I’ve never used it.

Now’s the time. Fire up the Web cam, go to your YouTube account, click on “Upload” at the top of the page, then select “Record from webcam” and you should be able to connect and record your video. Your cam will also come with some kind of software. You can use that if you’re not ready to dive into the YouTube pool.

A web cam is the sixth way to add video to your blog.

My cell phone records video. I assume that’ll work?

You betcha. You can record on your video-enabled cell phone and send it to your email or you can post it to one of many video posting services. I’ll list those sites towards the end of this post. I use my iPhone video as a promotion machine.

That was the seventh way to add video to your blog.

I’m hip, I use Flip. Don’t hate, I also use the Kodak Zi8

Flip video cameras are small, easy to use, and very powerful. I’ve been using a Flip Mino HD for the past year and it’s served me very well. Even though the Flips have been out for a few years, they are still very cool and discreet. There’s a big difference between recording using a Flip vs. one of those huge paparazzi cameras. You’re less likely to get the stink eye from people if you’re out recording in public.

I just got the Kodak Zi8 (thanks again @sugarjones) and so far it’s the bees knees. I’m still testing it out and have only posted one video to the site so far.

Once again, we covered two cameras but we’ll count that as one more way. That was number ocho.

How To Embed Video Into Your Blog

Thanks to YouTube, embedding videos into blog posts is super easy. Once you get your video uploaded to YouTube, all you have to do is get the Embed code and add it to your blog.

Here are some blog by blog specifics.

WordPress.org (custom install) blog

Just paste the embed code into your blog post area and Save. That’s all you need.

WordPress.com

Paste the embed code or paste the video page’s URL into a shortcode field. Actually, if you paste in the Embed code then save the post, WordPress.com will turn it into a shortcode for you. This is an example of the YouTube shortcode:” [ youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1zJJGLJ714&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0 ] ” .

Tumblr

Log into your Tumblr account, click on the “Video” button then paste in the Embed code and create the post.

Posterous

Log into your account, click the Settings button in the upper right part of the page, then click on the “Posts” tab. You’ll see a big “Post by Web” button, click on it. Paste in the Embed code and add a Title then click on the huge “Post” button.

We’ll count each blog type as one way. We’re up to twelve ways.

Blogger

Log into your account. Create a new post, switch to HTML Edit mode, paste in the Embed code and you’re all set.

TypePad

Log into your account, create a new post, click on the Edit HTML tab, paste in the Embed code and that’s it. I haven’t used TypePad for a while so please correct me if this process has changed and I’ll update things.

And, we’re at fourteen ways to add video to your blog. But wait, there’s more!

How do I resize the YouTube player. No offense, but it looks horrible in my blog at the default sizes.

You’re in luck. I wrote a blog post entitled, “How To Create and Resize A Custom YouTube Player.” The YouTube interface changed since the blog post so there may be some differences in the way things work though.

Other Very Cool Video Sites

Do I really have to use YouTube for everything? What are some other options?

You don’t have to use YouTube. There are many other video sites out there. I’ll list a few (so I can get to 20 ways ;) )

12Seconds.tv

This is a great site and one that I have used many times. 12Seconds.tv allows users to record, upload, or post mobile uploads of 12 seconds of video. If you’re intimidated by the camera, this is a great way to do a super quick post. You’ll have to be brief!

Vimeo

Vimeo is similar to YouTube only it’s a smaller community. The Vimeo video player is less clunky looking than the YouTube one.

Viddler

Viddler, a favorite site of mega video star Gary Vaynerchuk, is also a smaller video community. A smaller site means you can build a stronger following and have a chance at communicating with the company.

We’re at 17 ways!

I do everything via my iPhone. What do you have for me there? Any mobile app suggestions?

Once again, you’re in luck and these iPhone apps will take us to the end of this post’s journey.

Animoto

Yup, Animoto has an app that allows you to create videos from your iPhone. It works almost exactly like the Web version that we discussed above.

Qik

We didn’t really get into streaming video but the Qik iPhone app allows your 3gs phone to stream live video. You can then log into the Qik site and access the video and add it to your blog. Or, you can get crazy and embed a Qik player on one of your blog pages and have it stream live from your blog!

UStream Broadcaster

UStream is another streaming video site and it has an iPhone app.

Reel Director

Reel Director is a paid iPhone app. It allows you to edit video and combine photos, video, and text. It’s similar to Animoto but bumps things up a notch. This is a bonus “way” to add video to your blog today.

I’m looking forward to seeing your video creations, whether they are life vloggings, sales promos, tutorials, documentaries, or interviews.

I appreciate your feedback and look forward to continuing the conversation in the Comments.