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It was just a day or two ago that I was recommending Brando’s flash accessory kit to someone. Among the many (many, many) products at that online shop, their photographic accessories are some of the best deals, because even the most basic softboxen and other photo extras are ridiculously expensive elsewhere. Sure, they may not be as high quality as the “real” versions, but they do 90% of the job for 50% of the price.

This LED kit is a bit specific in its applications, but if you take a lot of macro shots you know that lighting is hard to get right on tiny subjects, and having a one-sided light source like this can add some much-needed contrast to what might otherwise be a flat-lit shot.

It’s basically a donut flash like the one Dexter uses (that’s all I can think of, I’m catching up on the latest season) but not nearly as bright — up close, that could totally blow out a macro subject (or scare it off). You can control which side of the donut is lit, or have it fully on. There’s a diffuser so you don’t need to worry about bulb rings, and at $58 it’s cheaper than a flashlight with a comparable number of LEDs. Check it out over at Brando.

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Filed under: Cult of Mac, Other Events

With the Apple tablet announcement growing closer by the day, we at TUAW have been putting on our thinking caps trying to brainstorm out exactly what the new device might be called. Of course, since we don’t have a clue to base our guesses on (aside from the thin support of domain name registrations), we decided to turn over the decision and brainstorming process to you, the TUAW reader. What do you think the new device will be called? Place your vote in the following poll, and add your guesses to the comments. Let your imagination free — but do remember we’re a family friendly site.

Speaking of thin support & quite amusing — It’s not much to go on with respect to a name, but as suggested by reader Nicholas, we did take a closer look at Apple’s invitation copy. “Apple’s latest creation,” without the spaces, becomes “Appleslatestcreation,” which of course does contain the phrase “Apple Slate.” Yes, well, it seems pretty silly and inelegant to me too, and not something Apple would do… and yet.

TUAWTake two tablets and call us in the morning originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Before moving to the Valley I thought stock was something you made by simmering meat and vegetables in a pot of boiling water. To this day I’m still no expert in negotiating for equity, but I recognize a great resource when I see one. Fansnap co-founder and investor Andrew Payne recently wrote an article entitled, Startup Equity for Employees. Payne offers a stock cheat sheet and some useful points to consider.

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Options & Vesting:You generally don’t get your stock right away and most companies grant you an “option” to purchase stock over time at a fixed strike rate. This time period is your vesting period and your strike rate is the price of purchase. As the company goes through changes Payne advises employees to pay attention to how their strike rates increase and renegotiate accordingly. Higher strike rates may mean that employees will be less capable of exercising all of their options.

Outstanding Shares: Says Payne, “a share number is meaningless without knowing the total number of shares outstanding.” As an employee, you should figure out what percentage of the company you own based on the number of shares that exist.

Preferred Stock: Writes Payne,”Common stockholders should care about the preference, because that preference is ahead of the commons in any acquisition outcome.” Unless you’ve invested a significant amount of money in your company, you likely have common stock. In the event of an acquisition, preferred stock holders such as investors and founder/investors get paid out on their investments first before common stock holders earn any money. Once you get the total preference number for the company, you can roughly calculate how much you’re likely to make or not make in the event of an acquisition.

Dilution: Companies raise new money by creating and selling new shares. The number of outstanding shares then increase and your shares are diluted and reduce in value. While many companies grant additional stock to employees, according to Payne, it’s rarely enough to compensate. He advises you to, “negotiate for the largest equity portion you can, because that initial grant is going to be the bulk of your ownership and will get diluted down from there.”

Incentive Stock Option Pool: Find out the size of the ISO pool and how much stock has been allotted to employees until the next round of funding. Without a decent stock incentive, you may find your company hiring only the lackluster employees who’ll accept a less-than-generous offer.

For Payne’s complete article visit Payne.org and for more advice check out Salary.com. Once you’ve read these articles you should have enough information to consult with your lawyer and accountant.

If you’ve got more resources to suggest, let us know in the comments below.

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I’m glad I only discovered Alex Posada’s “Particle 1.0” on the internet, because if I came across this kinetic sculpture in real life, I would only do two things: duck and cover.

Created in Barcelona, Posada’s sculpture uses all sorts of unique gadgetry to respond to its environment, translating the movement around it into a terrifying spectacle of light and sound.

A pair of sensors above the sculpture detect exhibit-goers’ movements and relays them to several LED lights, spinning on a concentric structure resembling an atomic diagram. A surround sound system in the exhibit space is synchronized with the lights.

What does all of that tech amount to? A spinning, whirring neon orb that looks like some sort of bomb, moments after detonation. Or an alien pod, hovering menacingly. Or some other thing that’s threatening my life. All I know is that art appreciation has never been scarier. [Designboom]

Regardless of what happens in the Bay State tomorrow, it’s too early to write off healthcare as dead.

Nancy Pelosi told reporters today that Democrats will get a bill some way or another, according to ABC News.

And now the New York Times reports that the way forward is to have the House vote directly on the Senate version which wouldn’t require a second vote in the Senate.

Of course, that will be tough, as it will require all of the supporting Democrats to support a bill they’re not crazy about, even in the face of a stunning election result.

Yesterday we outlined six possible scenarios, including this one, that healthcare might take in the event of a Scott Brown victory.

We’ll say this, in all sincerity: If Pelosi can get this done, she and Reid deserve MAJOR credit for what will be a triumph of party unity, to pass something this gigantic on 100% party-line votes, in the face of overwhelming political risk. Nothing like this has ever been done.

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See Also:

• It’s Over: Scott Brown Is The 3:1 Favorite Over Martha Coakley
• It’s A Mess: 6 Possible Scenarios If Republicans Win The Massachusetts Senate Race
• Here’s What Will Happen To Healthcare Stocks If Scott Brown Wins Tomorrow

Engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a strip of paper infused with carbon nanotubes that can quickly and inexpensively detect a toxin produced by algae in drinking water. The paper strips perform 28 times faster than the complicated method most commonly used today to detect microcystin-LR, a chemical compound produced by the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) commonly found on nutrient-rich waters. Microcystin-LR is among the leading causes of biological water pollution and is believed to be the culprit of many mass poisonings going back to early human history…

Tags: Algae,
Bacteria,
Biosensor,
Detect,
Detection,
Drinking,
Environmental,
Health,
Monitor,
Nanotubes,
Pollution,
Research,
University of Michigan

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Found under: HTC, Supersonic, Sprint, WiMAX, Android,

A while back ago we told you that Sprint gets ready to launch a WiMAX phone made by HTC. Dubbed the HTC A9292 the handset in question appears to be the HTC Supersonic. The phone has just been leaked and we might see it in action in a short while.Even more interesting is the fact that the Supersonic will run Android 2.1 which makes it the first WiMAX-ready Android phone coming from HTC and Sprint. Unfortunately we have no arrival dates and pricing details at this point and it might tak

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Donations by text message have now exceeded $22 million to the Red Cross alone for the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Update: Tallies are being kept by two primary organizations, both Denver-based mGive and Bellevue, Wash.-based Mobile Giving Foundation, which offer competing services to various non-profits. Together, they are helping more than a dozen organizations, including the Red Cross, The Salvation Army, UNICEF, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and World Vision, raise funds for Haiti.

A comprehensive number for how much money has been raised to date—across all the organizations—is not readily available, but mGive said today that the Red Cross campaign alone has raised $22 million. That easily makes it the largest campaign that mGive has ever administered. Last year, it raised a total of $1.25 million via text message, and the largest single campaign was the Keep a Child Alive campaign, which raised $450,000 to support services to children and families whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

While the figures are impressive, the donations continue growing at an increasing rate as additional short codes become available. The Red Cross became one of the first organizations on Jan. 12 to start getting the word out with the help of the U.S. State Department. A list of some of the texting campaigns are available at the end of the post.

One problem with using cellphones is that it takes awhile for the money to get from the carriers to the people in need. However, given the dire circumstances in Haiti, a handful of carriers, including Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, said they will pass along the money as soon as possible. In a statement today, T-Mobile said: “Recognizing the severity of the situation in Haiti and the need to make funds donated via text message by our customers available as quickly as possible, T-Mobile is speeding up the process to pass along these donations. We plan to deliver funds generously donated by T-Mobile customers this week.”

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless said it has already transmitted nearly $3 million to the American Red Cross, on behalf of their customers. The company said it would continue to advance funds pledged by customers to the Red Cross, which is “outside normal operation procedures.”

Here’s a staggering list of U.S. organizations offering mobile giving campaigns:

—On behalf of the American Red Cross: Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the Yéle Foundation (founded by Wyclef Jean): Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5; Text the word “Yele10” or “YeleTen” to 501501 to donate $10.

—On behalf of The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Text the word “QUAKE” to 20222 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund: Text the word “Haiti”  to 20222 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the Salvation Army: Text the word “Haiti” to 52000 to donate $10.

—On behalf of UNICEF: Text the word “Hope10” or “UNICEF” to 20222 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB): Text the word “Haiti” to 40579 to donate $10.

—On behalf of Save the Children Federation: Text the word “Save” or “Safe” to 20222 to donate $10.

—On behalf of World Vision: Text the word “Give” or “World” to 20222 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the International Medical Corps: Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the International Rescue Committee: Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5.

—On behalf of Oxfam America: Text the word “Oxfam” to 25383 to donate $10.

—On behalf of Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere: Text the word “PP” to 25383 to donate $10.

—On behalf of Americares: Text the word “Americares” to 25383 to donate $10.

—On behalf of Habitat for Humanity: Text the word “Habitat” to 25383 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the MTV telethon: Text the word “Give” to 25383 to donate $10.

—On behalf of the American Jewish World Service: Text the word “AJWS” to 25383 to donate $10.

Related

• Updated: People Text To Donate As Haiti Earthquake Becomes Hot Topic On Twitter
• Mobile Donations For Haiti Top $7 Million

Sony has stated December 2009 PlayStation 3 sales in the U.S. rose nearly 90 percent shattering the existing monthly record after a 25 percent price cut attracted holiday shoppers to the rapidly evolving console. PlayStation 3 game sales also advanced 60 percent from a year earlier, Sony said in an e-mailed statement. Software numbers were obviously incredible with massive hits like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Assassin’s Creed II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Final Fantasy XIII smashing sales charts. In the USA, Sony sold 726,000 PS3 players last December, according to NPD Group Inc. and Sony stated that in the five weeks following the last week in November they sold 3.8 million units worldwide. However, things are not so sunny overall in comparison to last year, where there has been a $1.3 billion drop in Sony’s revenues from its line of PlayStation systems.

Gamasutra has written some excellent thoughts towards PlayStation’s performance in 2009,

According to comments made by Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, we estimate that PlayStation 2 software revenues dropped by around $700 million in 2009, compared to 2008. That decline alone would explain more than half of Sony’s loss. The PlayStation 2 hardware also received a price cut in 2009, which could have contributed another $150 million in lost revenue.

Another $225 million or more have come from the annual loss of 1.3 million PSP system sales. According to Creutz of Cowen & Company, the handheld software segment shed $200 million in annual revenue from 2008 to 2009, and we estimate at least half of that loss can be attributed to declining PSP software sales.

Without more precise figures, we cannot illuminate the situation further. However, the general outline is clear: The PlayStation 3 platform — albeit the subject of a recent price cut — is still growing, but the contraction in Sony’s legacy and handheld segments has overwhelmed those gains. Sony cannot revive the PlayStation 2, and that system’s revenue contribution is on a terminal trajectory. (To use Pachter’s terms, the PlayStation 2 will “cease being relevant in 2010.”) We furthermore remain skeptical that Sony can reverse the fortunes of the PSP, at least at retail.

By mid-2010 we should know more about whether Sony will continue to back the PSP platform, and in particular the premium PSP Go model. We would not be surprised to hear of a successor to the PSP in 2010, especially if it provides backward compatibility to first-generation PSP software and network integration comparable to modern mobile devices.

Sony does have several ace cards coming to the PS3 console in 2010 that could really capitalize on the momentum brought forth by the cheaper PS3 slim. Sony is planning to vigorously enhance the network content and services aspect of the PS3, as well as tapping into a wider audience through the introduction of a new Motion Controller. PlayStation 3 units will become available to play 3D stereoscopic games through a firmware update, scheduled to be available in summer of 2010. Playback of 3D content on “Blu-ray” discs will also be possible by upgrading PlayStation 3 with a further firmware update.

According to the WSJ, HarperCollins Publishers is in talks with Apple about providing ebooks for Apple’s tablet. It’s speculated that ebook markets such as Amazon’s would seriously suffer if such an arrangement were finalized.

Based on explanations by Brian Murray, the chief executive of HarperCollins, the reason Amazon would initially have something to fear is that “e-books enhanced with video, author interviews and social-networking applications could command higher retail prices for publishers than current e-books” in the future. Apple’s tablet would, of course, be ideal for such enhanced content, and we already know that they’ll be digging for mags, newspapers and college textbooks but this is some of the first we’ve heard of Apple negotiating with publishers for regular e books.

Ah, I suppose we’ll be able to speculate some more on January 27th, in the meantime—on the tablet or not—”enhanced ebooks” sound like a blast. Just imagine how often you’ll say that something was way better with the author commentary. [WSJ]

Found under: Nokia, Ovi, Media, Event, ,

Nokia has apparently scheduled a press event on Thursday January 21 and were definitely interested to see what the Finnish company is going to tell us. According to the invitation the Nokia Ovi press event will share some big news with everyone so what could it be New store features New handsetsAttending the event is Anssi Vanjoki executive vice president of Nokia and Nokia UK General Manager Mark Loghran. The event will take place at 930AM sharp followed by a QA session at

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Today we mark the 81st birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and pause to consider a nation and world that has made great progress toward racial, economic and social justice in eight decades. But we still have a long way to go, and nowhere is that more evident than in our criminal justice policy.

More than one in 100 Americans will spend tonight behind bars, and the vast majority of them are poor. The country is 75% white, but our prisons are 59% black or Latino. Fifty-five years after a young Martin Luther King, Jr., led the Montgomery bus boycott, something is still very, very wrong with social and racial justice in our country.

In his famous Birmingham Jail letter of April 16, 1963, King wrote perhaps his second most-quoted line: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” These words, written behind bars, continue to inspire activists today in the fight for justice in our courts, our police stations and our jails.

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Remember those rumored HTC Android / Chrome OS touch tablets that were supposedly being shown behind the scenes at CES? In a brief statement given to Australia’s Channel News, Sales and Marketing Director Anthony Petts not only confirms the existence of the aforementioned project, he also announces in the same breath —
way to be efficient, guys — that the slate are on hold as the company is now “focusing their efforts on a new generation of mobile phones.” He’s not saying never, but don’t get your hopes up for the near future. At any rate, if a 4.3-inch device like the HTC HD2 is still considered a phone by its standards, we can be happy with that — maybe they can try five on for size while they’re at it.

Rumored HTC tablet project both confirmed and suspended in one fell swoop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen KIST’s Marhu robot tooling around here before, but now they’re showing off the latest models, the Mahru-Z (with some help from Mahru-M), in some super useful scenarios. Mahru-Z and M have been successfully demonstrating their service abilities by carrying cups of tea, and retrieving toast from toasters and delivering it as well. The Z-version bot is a bit shorter than previous iterations, and also sports different, more dextrous arms. He stands about 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 122 pounds. Both bots are networked and use 3D object recognition in their task completion. Overall, the improvements to the Mahru bots are iterative, but it sure is great to hear that one day we’ll have someone to bring our breakfast to us in bed. Video is after the break.

Continue reading KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly

KIST Mahru-Z waits on you very, very slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flagship Studios is long gone, but part of its legacy remains. The ill-fated Hellgate: London is alive and kicking in Korea, and HanbitSoft has plans to bring it back west as well.

HanbitSoft has finally acquired the full rights from Namco Bandai, paving the way for its return to North America. Namco Bandai previously held the western publishing rights, which hampered HanbitSoft’s plans for a relaunch.

“We would like to thank Namco Bandai Games America for allowing us to acquire the Hellgate publishing rights and are thrilled to have eager gamers worldwide return and enjoy the franchise,” said HanbitSoft CEO Kee-Young Kim.

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With a thicker stylus and a larger screen, some people have made the argument that Nintendo’s new DSi XL’s only potential market is old people. That’s simply not the case, Nintendo contends, and there are far more people that just those in the “old people” demographic that will be interested in the XL when it’s released outside of Japan this year.

“It’s absolutely not [just for old people]. DSi XL appeals to as many people, if not more, than its predecessors,” Nintendo’s DS senior product manager, James Honeywell, explained to CVG. “With bigger screens and a larger pen-like stylus it’s likely that older users may find the DSi XL easier and more comfortable to use but there are many more people it can and will appeal to. Gamers will undoubtedly appreciate the bigger screens so they can experience their favourite and the latest DS titles bigger and in a greater level of detail than ever before.”

But how about specifically — just who would take advantage of those features? Honeywell offered, “We certainly know that a lot of families who play DS together will enjoy the wider viewing angle the DSi XL allows so they can play together at home and the fact the bigger stylus is less likely to get lost down the back of the sofa is another bonus for them.”

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