On April 8, Apple unveiled plans for the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet. iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy. And for developers, a new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs to create apps that are even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.

Multi-Tasking on the iPhone

Check all the details at the apple web site Sneak peek into the iPhone OS 4

Adobe is offering a second public beta of the next release of Lightroom to give you a chance to preview the progress we’ve made on the new features and enhancements in the upcoming version. It’s an opportunity for you to evaluate a select portion of the new features planned for Lightroom 3, to help the team discover and address issues if any, and to send feedback that the Lightroom team can use to make Lightroom 3 an even better digital darkroom and more efficient assistant for you.

New features and enhancements include:

• Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
• Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
• Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
• Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
• Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
• Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback

You can find information about this new release and how to get your hands on a fresh copy at: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

As a marketing tool Twitter gets much more interesting and useful when you can filter out 99% of the junk that doesn’t apply to your objectives and focus on the stuff that matters.

The basic search.twitter.com functionality is fine for searching things that are being said about your search terms. The advanced search function offers more ways to slice and dice the stream, but still leaves some room for improvement as it only searches what’s being said and where. From a marketing standpoint who is saying it might be more useful.

Now that the search engines are all pretty geeked up over real time search you can create some very powerful searches and alerts combining Google and Twitter.

1) Target by occupation

Let’s say you have a business that sells an awesome service to attorneys. A simple search on Twitter will turn up thousands of mentions of the word attorney, but many of them will be from people talking about this or that attorney or the need to hire or not hire one. That’s probably not very helpful for your purposes.

However, if you cruise over to Google and use a handful of operators from the Google shortcut library (more on that here) you can create a search that plows through Twitter and gives you a list of all the users that have the word “attorney” in their title (username and/or real name) – Click on this search phrase and see what happens – intitle:”attorney * on twitter” site:twitter.com – what you’ll find is a handy list of attorneys of one sort or another on Twitter.

Without getting too technical, this search basically asks Google to look in the title attribute of profile pages on Twitter – obviously you can use any word to replicate this. The * tells Google to find the words “attorney on Twitter” without regard to order or other words – “on Twitter” appears in the title of every profile page so we need that term to make sure we search profile pages only.

2) Target by bio

In some cases searching through the optional biographical information can be more helpful than the username or real name fields. Maybe you’re looking for a very specific term or some of the folks you are targeting only reference their profession in their bio.

Google search to the rescue here again. This time add the intext attribute, the word bio and our key phrase to search bios – So a search for web designers would look like this – intext:”bio * web designer” site:twitter.com. When you look at this list you might notice that none of the people on the list would have been found by searching in their title, as in the first tip, for web designer. Try it both ways to test for best results.

3) Target by location

Location search by itself is simple using the Twitter advanced search tool – if you want a list of people in Austin you would use this in Twitter – near:”Austin, TX” within:25mi and Twitter would use the location field to show you Austin Tweeters.

But . . . let’s say you wanted to target salons in Austin or maybe the whole of Texas – it’s back to Google to mix and match – (intitle:”salon * on twitter” OR intext:”bio * salon”) intext:”location * TX” site:twitter.com – we search the title, bio and location to get a very targeted list of Salons in Texas on Twitter. Note the OR function for multiple queries.

4) New sign ups

Another handy thing about using any of the searches above is that you can also use the exact operators to create Google Alerts. By going to Google and putting in your search string as described above you’ll get everything they have now, but by setting up an alert you’ll get an email or RSS alert when a new attorney (or whatever you’re targeting) joins Twitter – I can think of some powerful ways to reach out to that new person just trying to find some new friends!

I thought, great, another instructional video by another photographer. After watching the video, I sat in front of my laptop for long time thinking about what Zack said in that video and it made me realize that I really suck as photographer. But it also made me realize that every other great photographer including Zack Arias, Jeremy Cowart, Chase Jarvis, Scott Bourne, Denis Reggie, Mike Colon, Joe Buissink all of them sucked as photographers at one point in their careers too. The mere realization of this, made me suck less. THANKS Zack!

Included in this beta is a new faster and more efficient rendering engine which allows you to quickly preview and move from one image to the next without having to wait for long time for the image to properly render. (NOTE 1: In my initial testing using my MacBook PRO 2.33GHz with 3GB RAM the image rendering is actually slower than in the current version of Lightroom. I will continue to test and perform some benchmarking and submit my comments to Adobe)

They’ve also added a noise reduction facility, watermarking (finally), film grain simulation tool (very cool), a new and improved import module. They have also added the ability to publish to the web directly from inside Lightroom 3 library to different popular photo sharing sites. Plug-ins for additional photo sharing sites will be available from the third party vendors but connecting to Flickr was a breeze.

One of the features that I really like is the ability to create exportable Slide Shows in the popular and dynamic H.264 movie format. This module allows you to create export slide shows from 320×240 suitable for small personal players to full High bit-rate 1080HD (1920×1080). We can finally create and share slide shows from inside Lightroom and share them with our clients. (NOTE 2: I’ve created a Slide Show of 323 pictures with background music and I clicked on the “Export Video” button when I started to write this post at 7:11PM and is already 8:33PM and the export is only half way done (I need to learn how to be a faster writer) I’m very impressed with most of the features included in this Lightroom 3 Beta, but so far I’m not impressed with the performance of this version AT ALL but I trust Adobe will correct all of this annoyances soon.)

Adobe also added a custom print package that allows you to create custom print layouts but I hope the final release includes a full blown book printing module like the one found in Aperture 2 or better. PLEASE ADOBE, add a functional book printing module that is second to none in the industry and allow for direct upload to quality printing services.

WHAT’S NEW IN LIGHTROOM 3 – PART 1

WHAT’S NEW IN LIGHTROOM 3 – PART 2

WHAT’S NEW IN LIGHTROOM 3 – PART 3

For more information and to download Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta, please visit Adobe Labs.

The incredible set of features of this camera outshine Nikon’s recent release of their D3s. The new Canon not only offers a huge range of ISO but it also adds 10 fps and 45-point AF system including 39 cross-type points.

The full HD 1080 video suitable for professional applications will make this camera the choice of professionals (I am a fan already). A 16.1 Megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors for high image quality and to provide the speed needed to support the 10pfs. This camera is a monster!

Visually, the EOS-1D Mark IV looks almost identical to the EOS-1D Mark III. The only difference is a slight bump around the ports to accommodate the HDMI socket.

“Throughout the EOS 1D MARK IV’s development, we’ve carefully studied feedback from our photographers and developed a camera to meet their specific requirements” said Mr. Shinbori, Senior General Manager of Camera Development Center, Canon Inc. “With a brand new, high-quality CMOS sensor and Dual “DIGIC 4” processors, the Canon EOS 1D MARK IV allows photographers to be the first to get the highest quality images to picture desks in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market.”.

Compared to the EOS 7D, the EOS 1D Mark IV does not have some features like – the Dual Axis Electronic level and Zone AF for example. However, in a camera such as this, this is not an issue. For the working photographer, who needs to get the shots time and again and who will use the camera to make money from, these extras are not needed. If you’re not a working photographer and you want the most technically advanced camera you can get, then buy the EOS 7D.

The Canon 1D Mark IV is reasonable priced at: $4,999 and according to Canon it will be available in the UK on December 2009. Visit Canon’s web site for full features. You can also visit EOS Network for the full press releases.

Don’t get rid of your “old” EOS-5D Mark II, Canon has also announced they are working on a firmware update that will allow for user selectable frame rate on the the 5D. The new firmware will be released in the first half of 2010 and it offers both 24 and 25fps shooting speeds for full HD movies.

This is scary and shows us that we’re ultimately responsible for the safe keeping of our data even when it’s stored in the cloud and we’re paying customers of large corporations. I’m a regular listener of several Podcasts, not only photography Podcasts but technology as well. A couple of months ago I listened to a photography podcast where someone was having an argument over not uploading all of our photography onto the cloud. There was also a counter argument defending the fact that we should trust the cloud because the technology is mature enough and that it’s the way technology is going.

As many of you, I do have lots of pictures and most of these images are stored on the cloud but I also have several backup USB hard drives in my office. I know that many of you are using Drobos but my current budget does not allows me for such luxury, so in addition to my USB drives I also have a backup subscription with Mozy and I also use Dropbox and Live Mesh to store some of my work on the cloud.

You can say that my files are backup 4 times and I can recover from several levels of computer disaster combining all of these backup components.

Here’s my usual workflow: I download my CF cards directly onto my laptop’s hard drive and depending on the type of pictures (client, personal, etc) I create a folder either in the Dropbox tree or the Mesh tree. In either case they are picked up by the daily SuperDuper backup job and the Mozy backup job as well. My files are now safe – Phew!

The other portion of the workflow is to make the pictures available to my clients. So the unprocessed photos remain on the compact flash cards until I finish editing the copies on my computer and upload the final versions onto Pictage for customer viewing and/or to my web site. Once the pictures have been uploaded my Lightroom library is then moved onto a DVD and stored for “final” archival.

If one of the USB drives in my office fails, all what I need to do is get a new USB drive and start the download process of downloading the missing images from the cloud onto the new USB drive or just get the appropriate DVD’s and copy the contents back. This ensures my images are still in at least 4 places and if the cloud storage providers go out of business or something dramatic happens to them I will still have all my images.

Cloud storage is great and I encourage you to use it with caution and make sure you have alternative ways to restore your valuable data from disaster.

T-Mobile us not the only example of data loss, there are several companies that faced this problem before. A couple of weeks when Google email was out for 100 minutes, it was a disaster for thousands of users. What was Google’s response? They basically said that they don’t care and if the users (you) don’t like the quality of service, you can go elsewhere for “better” service. (Matt Cutts, head of the web spam team interviewed by Leo Laporte in This week in Google 6:All your Os are belong to us)

Cloud storage technology is maturing every day and I’m sure that one day it will become the only storage we ever need. Laptops will have no permanent storage devices and all of our data will live in an organic network dispersed across the world. But today I will keep using my local storage “Just in case”.

The newly released Photoshop Mobile for the iPhone allows you to crop, adjust exposure, saturation, colors, convert to black and white, apply filters and upload directly to your FREE library in the Photoshop.com website which has TONS of additional high quality editing tools. This is an amazing FREE product and I’m sure that a lot of the other photo applications previously released that cost $20 will be soon out of the market. Also, some of the newer applications that offer a website to share your pictures for free will also be impacted by Adobe’s product release.

Adobe has also released its mobile application for SEVERAL other mobile devices including: HTC Touch, Samsun Epix, Sony Experia, Palm Treo and others. For a full list of available models visit Photoshop.com and download it directly to your phone.

To get the iPhone application visit: Photoshop for iPhone Download You can also take a free Test Drive by visiting: www.Photoshop.Com

Casting Schedule

NEW YORK | Oct. 3 Yankee Stadium
1 E 161st Bronx, NY 10451-2100 Castings begin 8am

LOS ANGELES | Oct.17 W Los Angeles
Westwood 930 Hilgard Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024 Castings begin 8am.

MIAMI | Oct. 10
Gansevoort South 2377 Collins Avenue Miami Beach , Florida 33139 Castings begin 8am

CHICAGO | Oct. 24 W Chicago
Lakeshore 644 North Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60611-3017 Castings begin 8am

For rules, details and entry forms, visit CBS web site and upload your videos to be included in the Victoria’s Secret Model search contest.

The service is amazingly quick and reliable. One of the many features I like is the ability to easily share photo folders with family and friends. The other great feature is the included version control that allows you to restore files you accidentally deleted from one of the devices in your group with a click of a mouse.

Just picture this scenario, you are at your client’s office away from your own town and your laptop is at the office. The client is ready to sign the contract immediately otherwise it will be a month before you can have a second chance. What do you do? Login to your Dropbox using your iPhone and email a copy of the contract you prepared at your office exclusively for them and you’re done!

Take a look at the features and try the service for free at www.getdropbox.com I’m sure you will be amazed with the ability to have a backup of your important files on the cloud and replicated on your favorite devices with one central version control.