Booq makes some awesome laptop bags & cases, hit the video above and check ‘em out!
Product Of The Week – Booq
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6 iOS Keyboard Tips Sure To Save You Time
We are in the midst of our big #AppleDays2013 celebration, so I thought you may like a few quick tips to help you get around in iOS.
- To place the cursor with precision, press and hold on the text. A magnifying glass will appear, showing the cursor as a blue vertical line. Move the cursor to the desired location and release. Like this:
- At the end of a sentence you can tap the space bar twice in a row and the iPad will automatically output a period, a space, and turn the caps key on so that you are ready for the next sentence.
- There’s no need for an apostrophe in your contractions when you have an automatic spelling corrector. You can type “Im” for “I’m” and “cant” for “can’t” and let the iPad do the extra work for you.
- Tired of flipping back and forth from letters to numbers? Rather than tapping the”.?123″ key to get at the numbers, hold your finger down on it and slide your finger to the key you need. When you release your finger, the iPad will produce your character and automatically flip back to the original keyboard layout.
- To insert a capital letter, tap and hold the shift key and trace to the desired letter. A capital letter will be inserted automatically.
- To hide the onscreen keyboard, press the hide keyboard button in the lower right hand corner of the keyboard. It looks like this:
Memorial Chapel at Lawrence University – Community Spotlight
Lawrence University has a very distinguished music program that is well known in the community, regionally and nationally. Equally as well known, is the performance space, simply called “Memorial Chapel.” Built in 1919, it seats 1,148 people. With its wraparound balcony seating, it creates a very intimate space despite number of people who can attend a performance.
The current technology features a recently renovated sound system, plus a fully equipped recording studio used to record the numerous events – which include guest speakers, student con centers and recitals, and professional arts series.
Until now, however, all of the technology focused on audio. The campus was already streaming audio to the web when Dean of the Conservatory of Music, Brian Pertl, had a vision to expand those webcasts by adding video. This was to be a big step forward, considering the only video currently in use was a small Sony Handycam used to allow the recording studio to see what was happening on stage.
After meetings with staff, it was determined the systems had to offer some unique capabilities. It needed to be high definition and the cameras needed to be capable of remote operation by one or two people, instead of one person per camera. The site lines of the space would not allow for standard cameras on tripods with operators. It would be too visually distracting during performances. Also, the equipment had to fit in a small space in a tech booth at the back corner of the balcony. And finally, a second point of control was needed from the recording room.
For the HD cameras, Sony BRC-Z330 cameras were chosen for their outstanding color reproduction. The cameras were outfitted with additional hardware from Vaddio. Vaddio produces equipment that attaches to the cameras allowing all power, video, and control to run on standard CAT5 over long distances. Also, HD-SDI cards were added to allow full HD connection to the video switcher and to the recording booth. A camera was placed directly on center in the face of the balcony. Two cameras were place in the face of the balcony, about halfway into the room. This allows for both side angle shots of the stage, as well as shots of the audience. This also allows shots of performers in the balconies, which is often done for special pieces of music. The fourth camera is located on the stage wall, allowing wonderful close-ups of the conductor and other musicians on the stage.
Cameras are controlled by a Vaddio Precision Camera Controller. This allows the cameras to be controlled for pan, tilt, and zoom, and features 14 presets per camera that can be recalled at the touch of a button. This greatly simplifies managing a four-camera system during intense orchestra performances or similar events.
A Panasonic AV-HS400 video switcher allows for a true broadcast quality video mix experience. Each camera comes into the switcher as HD-SDI. Each input has a direct output connected to AJA Ki-Pro hard disc recorders. This allows every concert to be recorded from four different angles. This raw video can then be edited after the concert, with the knowledge that no shot will be missed. The switched output of the mixer is also recorded on a Ki-Pro.
One advantage of the Panasonic switcher is the multi viewer output. One LCD TV is mounted on the wall and the switcher shows all camera inputs, plus preview and program on one monitor. This also allows the recording studio a great way to see everything that is going on, since they have no direct view of the room. That same multi viewer output is sent via HD-SDI to the recording room. The recording room has three 42″ LCD TVs. All are fed from a small matrix allowing any of the TVs to display the two monitor outputs of the Pro-Tools computer, the multi viewer feed from the chapel, the main full screen program output, or a local DVD recorder.
In addition to seeing the feed from the chapel, the Recording room has a small Crestron button controller that allows the system to be remotely turned on. It also has control of the Panasonic switcher, allowing the user to perform basic camera switches without having to be in two places at once! For direct camera control, a second Vaddio Precision Camera Controller is slaved to the main controller and allows the user to recall the same camera presets as the main controller.
Finally, a Black Magic Ultra Studio capture device allows the output of the video switcher to be captured by a MacBook Pro laptop via Thunderbolt. This laptop then encodes the video so it can be streamed live to the world over the Internet.
This innovative system is a true collaboration between the design staff at Camera Corner / Connecting Point, and the highly proficient technical staff at Lawrence University, including Larry Darling, Director of Recording; David Berk, Director of Instructional Technology; Rachel Crowl, Web Content and New Media Coordinator; and Dean Brian Pertl.
Product of the Week – Wacom Bamboo Tablets
As anyone who’s spent more than a couple hours in Photoshop can tell ya, sometimes a mouse and keyboard just don’t cut it. Wacom has been making pen & touch input devices well before the days of the tablet PCs, such as iPad and Galaxy Tab. While these tablets sure are great, they don’t offer the level of precision one needs when getting down and dirty in a photo editing system.
One of my earliest experiences with Wacom was with a 13″ Cintiq display, which allowed me to pick up a stylus and draw right on the screen. The experience was unbelievably fluid! Not only was the tablet incredibly accurate, it could also detect how much pressure I was drawing with and at what angle I held my virtual paintbrush.
This Cintiq experience was phenomenal, but it was also over a thousand bucks! In today’s video, I’m showcasing the Bamboo series of products, which offers similar performance to the Cintiq, without a built-in screen and at a tenth of the price. Stop in today to check out our demo model!
Which Cellphone Is Right For Me?
So, you’ve decided to purchase a new phone. Congratulations! The first step is choosing your wireless provider. As in other areas of life, the old proverb rings true, “You get what you pay for”. There are many wireless service providers from which to choose. One question worth considering is which carrier will give you the best service in the event of an emergency, say being stranded on the side of the road, or in the middle of the ocean? I bet Tom Hanks would have loved to have Verizon coverage when he and Wilson were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Verizon has the largest 4G LTE network in the United States. While other companies may claim they have the largest coverage area, they leave out the fact they charge for roaming, or using another carrier’s towers. Verizon has NO roaming charges.
Once you have decided on your carrier, your next step is to decide what phone fits your needs. Customers come in daily and ask us, “What is the difference between all these phone options?” There are three main options in operating systems, iOS, Android, and Windows. The general rule of thumb is to stay within the family of operating system you are already running in your household. If you primarily have Apple products, go with the iOS devices, if you have Windows-based machines, you can either go with Android or Windows devices. This suggestion is based on the ease of sharing data among devices on the same operating system: iOS devices utilize services such as iTunes and iCloud, and Android and Windows devices use Google accounts for many of their services. Both Apple and Google services will store your information and reduce the risk of loosing valuable data. You will find Verizon’s phones offering different operating systems that range in price from FREE to $200.
Now that you’ve purchased a new phone, what do you do with the old one? Verizon Wireless offers a Device Recycling Program with 4 easy steps. Through this program, you will be able to get rid of your old phone and receive either a credit towards your bill or cash. The best part is your old phone does not need to be on the Verizon network, so if you’re switching carriers, you can still get a credit!
So, now you have the lowdown on the Verizon network, phones, and Device Recycling Program; I hope it clears up some questions, and also stirs up some questions, so you will come see me and the rest of the team at Camera Corner / Connecting Point.
Beware Foursquare – FIXED
Please pass this along to anyone you know that owns a business, it is extremely important for their marketing department to understand the recent changes to FourSquare!
Let me start by saying that we at Camera Corner / Connecting Point aren’t in the business of advising companies on their social marketing strategies, so I do apologise for writing what many will consider to be an off-topic post. When I learned about these changes earlier today, I was rather upset, and when I tried to search online for others having this issue, I couldn’t come up with anything.
FourSquare, a popular social networking site for “checking in” to your favorite locations, no longer allows the owners and managers of listed businesses on their site to control the hours of operation listed on their page. Instead, FourSquare has decided to “auto detect” the hours we are open based on the dates and times that customers have “checked in” in the past, and changed the display on the site to “hours people check in”.
This has led FourSquare to list our hours as:
Monday — 6:00 AM–4:00 PM
Tuesday — 7:00 AM–3:00 PM
Wednesday — 24 Hours
Thursday — 6:00 AM–5:00 PM
Friday — 5:00 AM–4:00 PM & 9:00 PM–10:00 PM
Saturday — 5:00 AM–3:00 PM & 5:00 PM–6:00 PM
Sunday — 10:00 AM–11:00 AM
Our ACTUAL hours are:
Monday – Friday –7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Saturday — 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Sunday — CLOSED
I found this rather upsetting. Not only are the hours they list inconsistent, hard to read, and inaccurate, but they are claiming that we are closed 12.5 hours per week that we are typically open. Even worse, 17.5 hours that they claim we’re open for business, we are not.
We apologize for the confusion, and have contacted FourSquare to correct the poorly listed hours:
Nicholas Wautier, May 02 14:43 (EDT): My popular hours include several times that we aren’t even open. I have our open hours listed. is there some way I can override the popular hours from displaying?
Their response:
Greg Test, May 02 17:19 (EDT):
Hi there,
Thank you so much for your interest in Foursquare! I appreciate you taking the time to notify us of this issue, however due to a recent redesign, businesses will no longer be able to label particular sets of open hours. Our hope is that this will clarify the hours that your business is open for operation for your customers.
If you would like to create events for your business you can learn how to do so by visiting the following link: http://bit.ly/Y9DA0q
All the best,
Greg
Clarify? How does this clarify anything? Feels like a form letter to me, or should I be listing every one of our business days as an event?
Here’s my response back to Greg:
Nicholas Wautier, May 02 17:42 (EDT): Thank you for your prompt response, however I seriously disagree with this change in policy. This will encourage login cheating and lead to many dissatisfied customers.
There is no legitimate reason to ‘crowdsource’ my hours of operation. Why would I want people to think my business is open 24 hours when it never is.
Without this returning functionality, why would I bother claiming my listing or consider advertising on the 4sq network? I don’t want to pay to drive traffic to a locked door.
If I cannot have my proper hours of operation listed on foursquare accurately, I would rather not be listed on foursquare at all.
I will also reach out to my other friends in business to inform them of this change. I don’t expect any of them to feel differently than I do.
Thank You again,
Nicholas Wautier
I don’t feel that anything I said was inaccurate or unreasonable. I know that they own the servers, and offer the service at no charge to the marketers or consumers, but in my book, this is some pretty basic functionality they’re ignoring. When a potential shopper rolls up at 9:00 PM on a Friday, they aren’t going to be happy when they find out we’re not there, and we’re going to potentially loose that person as a customer.
Now, FourSquare could make the argument that in the long-term, check-in times will normalize and they will get a more accurate window, but I beg to differ. Our building is a common place for amateur photographers to practice their night photography skills. They have “checked-in” to tag our business in their photos posted to the web. We also have staff that occasionally work odd hours for maintenance and deliveries. While I don’t encourage our employees to “check-in” to work, we’ve had some that do, telling their friends and family that they’re at work at an odd hour. Both of these situations will continue to happen, and will continue to skew the hours that FourSquare “thinks” we’re open.
I would love for FourSquare to respond, addressing my concerns. While it’s not the type of material we plan to bring you in this venue, we will keep you updated on any new developments.
The bottom line for consumers, PLEASE do not trust Foursquare’s listed hours of operation for ANY business. Marketers, please think twice about the time and resources you dedicate to promoting your businesses on this platform. There are, without question, many alternatives out there.
Please post your thoughts and comments below. Do you know a workaround? What site do you prefer to use for check-in tracking?
UPDATE: Just as Chris had postulated in the comments section, there was a miscommunication. Apparently what I’m experiencing is the result of a technical issue that Foursquare is currently working on.
Greg Test, May 03 10:45 (EDT):
Hi there,
Thanks for your response. I believe I was misunderstanding you before, I was under the impression that you wanted to include particular hours within your normal hours (for example, “Happy Hour”).
This is actually a known issue and we’re working on a fix now. Thanks for reaching out to us and reporting it.
Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.
All the best,
Greg
I’ll check on it in a few days and let everyone know when it’s fixed!
5-9-13 – I just checked our page on FourSquare and everything appears to be fixed!
Stop In Next Week for #AppleDays2013
Camera Corner / Connecting Point is pleased to announce our Apple Days 2013 event! This year’s event spans 3 days to bring together Apple Mac, iPad, and iPhone users of all experience levels in our state-of-the-art classroom facility. The event runs next week from Thursday, May 9th through Saturday, May 11th.
In addition to providing a venue for users to connect, we will be offering free mini-classes, accessory bundle discounts, and even a discount on the popular iPhone 5.
Click here to download a PDF with class schedules and bundle options.
Submit your stories, photos, and events to CommunitySpotlight@cccp.com and you may be our next featured contributor!
Product of the Week – Griffin AirCurve
An iPhone is a great way to take thousands of songs with you everywhere you go, but how are you listening to that music? Headphones are great, but what if you want to share your music with others? Companies like SkullCandy and Braven make speaker systems, but they all need battery or wall power, and what if you aren’t looking to spend $45?
Check out our cool product of the week, the Griffin AirCurve. Without any power source, the AirCurve amplifies your sound up to 10dB, simply by curving the sound out of the speakers on your iPhone 4 or 4S. We’ve got them for just ten bucks!
Link Repaired! – Our Apologies
Aside
It was brought to our attention this morning that the link to our Community Spotlight submission address was broken. I have repaired this link. If you have an event, photos, or an article you would like featured on our blog, please email it to communityspotlight@cccp.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience, and look forward to seeing & sharing your work!
How to Build a Business that Survives
When my father, Norman Chernick, opened Camera Corner in 1953, his two man team worked out of an 800 square foot store on the corner of Washington and Walnut Street. By the time I took over as President and CEO in 1984, Dad had moved us to a much larger location and began carrying office equipment from companies like Bell & Howell and Apple Computer. We had over a thousand regular customers and relationships with close to one hundred vendors.
Today, I have the honor of steering a ship that’s 120 people strong and doesn’t just serve Green Bay. We have customers in multiple states! We’ve evolved into more than just a store, we’re a solution center; a company that doesn’t just sell you a computer, we sell the computer, network, servers, storage, phone system, and conference room… and we’ll design it… and we’ll install it… and we’ll pick up the phone if you ever need help with anything.
Since our 60th anniversary announcement, I’ve gotten numerous calls, emails, and letters of congratulations. I’ve had people say, “60 years is such a long time, what’s your secret?” Well, it all comes down to relationships.
We built CCCP on relationships. I love having customers become my friends. In just a few weeks, we’ll be hosting a huge technology expo at the KI Convention Center. Most people would look at an event of this scale as a rather arduous task, but to me it’s fun; because I get to spend the whole day surrounded by the vendors and customers that I’ve come to know and love over the years. Are we going to be talking business? Of course, but we’re going to have a lot of fun, too.
I instill customer service into my team as well. To work for me, you’ve got to care… Genuinely care about the company, and the customer. So I guess, as they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. What started as a family business, continues to be run as a family business. Not only does my wife Rebecca play a critical role in the company, but so does the rest of our family Ryan, Ben, & Christy. And every member of my team becomes an extension of our family, working together to ensure that our customers come first today, just as they did 60 years ago.