The much predicted Apple I Phone was unveiled yesterday. It lives up to the hype! It solves some major problems that have been holding back mobile computing. Here are three reasons why the iphone is innovative:

Problem 1. HCI. Data entry

Phones have a user interface problem. If you want to type in stuff you need a keyboard but the phone is too small for a keyboard. Solutions have tended to revolve around:

1abc
querty
touch sensitive screen and stylus

(a composite image if text input methods)

None of these methods is completely satisfactory. Apple have come up with finger input on a touch sensitive screen. Every solution is a compromise between size and ease of use. The bigger screen on the I Phone gives finger input the edge. So now its easy to write in a URL. Being able to write in a URL is a major step forward for the mobile web – wobile.

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In November we did an article on Video Blogging. Since that article there have been a number of changes and developments on the Video Blogging front.
So we thought we’d give you an update.

Last time we mentioned Flixn as an impressive application, that allows the user to record video from their webcam directly to the web.
Since then, one of the video hosting industry’s leading players; YouTube; has added this very feature to their site. YouTube Quick Capture.
Quick Capture offers Flixn’s ability to directly post video content to the web, with YouTubes sense of community, and thre ability to upload ten minutes of video instead of four.
This is a great addition to YouTube’s ever expanding service.

 The last article also featured a number of articles from the site Life Goggles.
Since then they have produced three more features on the subject.
Part 3 of 4 easy steps to getting your videos online
Online video sharing comparison matrix
What is the best video sharing site?
Some of it goes over what the previous articles covered. But they are worth a look if nothing else.

Happy Blogging

Phone-StreamFX is now compatible with Vivotek IP cameras. Vivotek are a public company listed on the Taiwan stock exchange and one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. Vivotek have won numerous innovation awards recognising their commitment to new product developemnt and quality design. http://www.vivotek.com/

Here is my list of the punctuation marks in the development of the mobile web – wobile. The first ten years.

Some of the punctuation marks are flops, others are significant high points. Which ones are which?

1997 WAP starts

1999 DoCoMo launch IMODE in Japan -smileys and anime graphics (green screen)

Green screen WAP apps in Europe….taxi booking etc

KPN adopt DoCoMo’s IMODE in Holland

2000 astonishing growth of sms in Europe

2001 start of Colour screens on phones

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The dream is well known: instant, relevant, information about the thing that you want, anything and everything on an easy to use portable device – something like a mobile phone. The mobile internet eventually will have some break through and catch on and become as established and as normal as the web. But something is holding the development back, there are some missing ingredients

maybe it’s a some sort of marketing name – wobile?

maybe it’s a technology – easy to use fingerprint ID?

maybe it’s a killer app – mobile banking and payment?

maybe it’s a product that will make the breakthrough – an apple i phone? – maybe

The difference between a network camera and web camera is that network cameras (sometimes called IP cameras) are webcams which have built in web servers. PC web cams are webcams which do not have built in web servers and need to be plugged into a PC USB port to function. Network cameras only need to be plugged into a network. For a network camera to be viewable via the internet the network router needs to be configured to allow access to the camera. In general a PC web camera needs software installed on the PC for it to work, MSN or EyeSpyFX Webcam for example. A network camera has its own built in software.

There is a price difference. A PC webcam generally costs about $40 but a network cam generally will not cost less than $120

Network cams are generally used for security and monitoring applications. PC webcams are generally used for video chat applications such as skype, msn, yahoo etc. and to a lesser extent for monitoring.

Well known PC webcam manufacturers include: Logitech, Creative, Phillips

Logitech Orbit (OrbitFX software)

Well known network cameras manufacturers include: Axis, Sony, Panasonic

Axis 205 Network camera

If you visit a famous webcam online say for example looking at the Eiffel Tower it is not a PC Webcam but is most likely in fact to be a network camera. Public network cameras are often described as webcams. This is because the word “webcam” has become a catch all phrase for all sorts of online cameras including network cameras.

EyeSpyFX provides monitoring software for PC webcams that feature mechanical pan tilt. Using EyeSpyFX software users can remotely control the pan tilt features. EyeSpyFX also allows the software to be used for remote monitoring offering the ability to view via the web or via the mobile phone.

CamToMobile offers a service where network cam owners can view their network cams via a mobile phone.

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Setting up security cameras around the home can be somewhat expensive, depending on the suveillance camera system you choose, but if you go online to shop for security cameras you very well might be able to save money on surveillance cameras with prices you won’t find locally.

http://wnews.uol.com.br/site/noticias/materia_especial.php?id_secao=17&id_conteudo=235&id_coluna=5

Here at EyeSpyFX we put a lot of focus on the security uses of web cameras.
However in recent years, one of the primary uses of the webcam is for the creation of videos, for blogging and podcasts.

Video Blogging usually involves a number of videos on a web page along with text or images that allow the user to create a journal type log.
Blogs such as these allow people to create content about a particular topic, or as a personal diary.
Read more on Blogging and Video Blogging on wikipedia.

Creating a video for the internet can be a daunting task.
For most video blogging the first step requires the user to create a video using their computer, from a webcam, camrecorder, or even camera phone.
After this video is created, the user needs to put the video on a video hosting site such as youtube or google video, and then embed that hosted file onto their blog.

However there are a lot of sites and software available that make these tasks much easier.
Uploading a video has become a simple task, and the easy of use for blog sites are incredible.
Users do not need to write the code anymore, as the sites will automatically generate it for them.

Video hosting sites include:
youtube, google video, vidilife, soapbox, and others.

The site Life Goggles has two good guides/reviews on a number of different video hosting sites.
Here are direct links to the two articles.
4 Easy steps to getting your videos online
4 more easy steps to getting your videos online

Blog sites
There are a number of free blog publishing sites, that generate and host blogs for user. You provide the content. Some of these are:
Blogger, WordPress, Vox

This still leaves the task of creating the video content.
Alot of web cameras now come with video recording software, so users should be able to easily create content and upload it to the web

One impressive web appliaction that has been available for some time now is Flixn.
Flixn is a web based application that connects directly to the webcam, then with a press of a button you can record up to 5 minutes worth of video directly to the web.

Some people prefer to edit and manipulate the content before uploading, but for a beginner, or someone short on time, Flixn offers a fast and free method for video blogging.

Unfortunately if you make a mistake 4 minutes into the video you’ll either have to live with it or start again.

Happy blogging.

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Setting up security video cameras around the home so that you have a surveillance camera to protect your property can be useful. Security cameras can not only provide evidence in case of a crime but you can also get a home security camera for peace of mind.

OrbitFX version 2.0 has been released.

OrbitFX is webcam monitoring software for the Logitech Orbit (Sphere)

It is ideal for home and business security and peace of mind monitoring.

You can download OrbitFX here

Phone StreamFX has been updated to now include a My Cam log on feature. This feature enables users to logon directly listing their own cameras. New options have been added allowing full screen images. A number of small bugs have been fixed and compatability with ranges of phones has been increased.

Phone StreamFX is now even more suited to home and business security and peace of mind applications.