Aperture is a photo editing and management software program that was developed by Apple for the Mac OS X operating system, first released in 2005 for $499(all prices are in USD), dropped to $199, and now released on their App Store $80. The software handles a number of tasks common in post-production work such as importing and organizing image files, applying corrective adjustments, displaying slideshows, and printing photographs.

Features of Aperture include non-destructive editing, organization of photographs by keyword, faces (using face detection and recognition), and places (using GPS metadata embedded in image files), brushes for applying effects (such as dodge and burn, skin smoothing, and polarization), and exporting to several popular websites, including Flickr, Facebook, SmugMug, and Apple's MobileMe service.

Aperture 3, the latest version of the software, was released on February 9, 2010 and runs on Intel-based Mac computers. It is sold for $199 in the retail box. On January 6th 2011, Apple announced its availability for $79.99 on the new Mac App Store.

Features

• Complete Raw image format support from import to output.
• Master image files (RAW or otherwise) may be kept in place on import or migrated into the Aperture library.
• RAW Fine Tune, allowing version of RAW decode to be managed over time and conversion parameters adjusted.
• Many image adjustment tools including specific color retouching, a luminance based edge sharpener, and spot repair.
• Lens correction tools, such as chromatic aberration.
• Project management, with extensive metadata and searching support.
• Autostacking, a way to group photos based on the time between shutter clicks.
• Stacks (for grouping photos) and Versions (for making multiple working copies of the same image).
• Multiple display spanning.
• Loupe, allowing viewing of images at zooms from 50% to 1600%.
• Light Table, a type of freeform workspace.
• Native support of the Adobe Photoshop PSD, PNG, JPG and TIFF formats.
• Nondestructive image editing.
• Customizable printing and publishing.
• Supports importing from USB and Firewire memory card readers or directly from a camera connected via USB.
• Ability to simultaneously zoom and pan multiple images.
• Read and write support for IPTC image metadata.
• Heavily customizable book creation.
• Web gallery and blog creation, uploadable via FTP or Webdav.
• Full-featured full-screen mode, for editing and sorting images.

Aperture 2.0

Aperture 2.0 was released on February 12, 2008 with a reduced US price of $199. This can be compared with the $499 price tag of version 1.0.

• Streamlined interface.
• Enhanced performance due to database optimizations and interface improvements.
• Enhanced image processing with updated RAW support.
• Improved integration with Mac OS X, MobileMe and various software packages including iLife and iWork.
• Support for editing plug-ins, including Apple's own dodging and burning tool (Aperture 2.1).

Aperture 3.0

Aperture 3.0 was released on February 9, 2010, and is the first version of Aperture to require an Intel based Macintosh computer (previous versions could use PowerPC based systems). Apple claims more than 200 new features are included in version 3.0 and cites the main enhancements as follows:

• 64 bit application, able to handle huge files such as very high definition scans.
• Face detection and recognition tool, called Faces.
• Place pictures on maps using Places. It is compatible with GPS metadata and manually editable through an interactive map.
• Native Flickr and Facebook export.
• Nondestructive, edge-aware brushes to apply adjustments to photos.
• Dozens of new built-in adjustment presets. Some photographers created custom presets available for download.
• Advanced Slideshows.
• Handling and editing of video and audio files.

Final Cut Studio

Final Cut Studio is a professional video and audio production suite for Mac OS X from Apple Inc., and a direct competitor (and vastly superior) to Avid Media Composer in the high-end movie production industry.

Components

Final Cut Studio version 3 contains six main applications and several smaller applications used in editing video. The major applications it includes are:

• Final Cut Pro 7 – "real-time editing for DV, SD and HD"
• Motion 4 – "real-time motion graphics design"
• Soundtrack Pro 3 – "advanced audio editing and sound design"
• DVD Studio Pro 4 – encoding, authoring and burning.
• Color 1.5 – a new color grading application adapted from Silicon Color's FinalTouch.
• Compressor 3.5 – a video encoding tool for outputting projects in different formats.

Additional applications included are:

• Cinema Tools 4.5 – tools specific to film processing.
• Qmaster 3 – a distributed processing tool.

History

Final Cut Studio was introduced at the National Association of Broadcasters in April 2005. It is the successor to Production Suite, and added new versions of all the Production Suite applications, as well as a 'new' program, Soundtrack Pro, which is really a new version of Soundtrack, formerly included with Final Cut Pro. In January 2006, Final Cut Studio became the only way to purchase any of the individual major applications. In March 2006, Apple released the Universal Binary version as Final Cut Studio 1.1.

Dell Streak 5 (previously known as the Mini 5) is a smartphone/tablet PC hybrid from Dell that uses the Android operating system. It comes with a 5-inch (13 cm) capacitive touchscreen and two cameras, a 5MP one with dual-LED flash on the back and a VGA-resolution one on the front for video calling; both are capable of video. The development was first disclosed in June 2009 and in October 2009 it was known that the tablet is capable of making 3G phone calls. 

The three buttons at the bottom (or right, when held in its normal landscape mode) are capacitive. The Android buttons used are Home, Menu, and Back. It features a Dell skin on top and has a cradle adapter with HDMI out. The phone lacks the navigational trackball found in other Android devices. While FM radio support is not an official feature, an FM radio chip was found upon inspection of the Streak's internal hardware, and can be accessed though a user's modification of the OS. The versions released previously have had Android 1.6 installed, with Dell offering unlocked Streaks with Android 2.2 (Froyo) in December 2010.

Customers on the British O2 mobile phone network were given the opportunity to install Android 2.1 in early September 2010 through an Over the Air update. This update, however, has caused an uproar amongst consumers, because it caused a large number of bugs and removed some features from the previous software.

A seven-inch version of the Streak was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011. The Wall Street Journal reviewed it unfavorably in February. There are also rumors of a ten-inch model.

Following protests from users that Dell, by not including source code, had violated the terms of the GNU General Public License, the source code of the custom Android Operating System for Dell Streak is now available for download.

There is a root method for the Dell Streak, and many roms are available, including iterations of the CyanogenMod rom.

bill gate's iphone is missing

bill gate's iphone is missing

In an emergency pop-up message appeared on all Microsoft Windows machines earlier today. Popping up on the screen every 25 seconds, this new pop-up, like every other Windows alert, was designed with the sole intention of annoying the user enough that they would have no choice but to read it fully.

The message was a request from Microsoft chairman and former CEO Bill Gates. It read: "Hello Windows patrons! I really, really need your help. And you have to listen to me, because this pop-up will not go away until I get what I want."

The intrusive pop-up prompted the user to go on to the next page, which displayed a large photo of an iPhone. Vista users were told to click "Properties", select "Run as Administrator", and work their way through a series of more annoying pop-ups before continuing. A caption below the picture read: "I lost my iPhone during a jog this morning. If you or anyone you know has any information pertaining to the whereabouts of my incredibly reliable Apple device, please restart your computers, tap "F12" to get to the safe mode options, choose one of the safe mode options, log-in as the administrator, wait for the desktop to load completely, and click anywhere on the screen to summon the inevitable Blue Screen of Death. That'll be the indication to our Microsoft office that you have information about my missing iPhone. Thank you!"

We asked Mr. Gates if any progress had been made in his search, and if his company's latest annoying pop-up had been successful in aiding him.

"So far, no luck," said the beneficent billionaire. "You won't believe this, but apparently, every Windows user has received a Blue Screen of Death at some point today, regardless of whether they're participating in the search or not. It's been a pretty frustrating process."

When asked why he owns devices made by Apple, Microsoft's biggest competitor, Gates responded, "Because Microsoft sucks."

"Yep, we suck," agreed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "I think our customers have gotten accustomed to how much we fall behind Apple in terms of quality products and customer service. I can't blame Bill for purchasing and using their products. I eat apples all the time. Out of respect to the company. And because an apple a day helps keep the doctors away."

"It's not medically accurate that apples alone keep people healthy," noted Dr. James Hernandez, MD PhD. "But Apple products are so sleek and cutting-edge that they distract customers enough from their own infirmities. So, in a sense, 'apples' do help keep you from doctors."

Bill Gates told us that his iPhone "means the world" to him, and that the only thing that matters to him more in life is "a whole lotta money". He also revealed that he's close to finishing his research on a time travel machine that would allow him to go back to 1976, punch Apple co-founder Steve Jobs square in the face, and take control of the then-fledgling company.

"This won't help me get my precious missing iPhone back," admits Gates, "but owning Apple would beat the crap out of any of my Microsoft ideas."

We all agree.

And, please, if you happen to find Bill Gates' missing iPhone, keep it. Especially if you're a long-suffering Windows user.

You deserve it.