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Casio’s GPS-equipped EX-10HG camera gets a price, launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Getting caught up in the idea that your desk, work bench, house, or office must be in perfect shape for you to really get stuff done can just as easily result in getting nothing done. Learn to recognize what’s good enough.

Photo by BLW Photography.

Every activity has a point of diminishing returns, and recognizing what that point is in terms of planning and organization is critical to spending more time getting stuff done and less time planning to get stuff done. At the home organization blog Small Notebook they highlight the dangers of over-focusing on organization:

We’ll spend all of our time planning and getting ready, but then starting to work on those projects stumps us. So what do we do? We organize some more. [...]

We often think about organization in terms of appearance: if it looks pretty, if it looks calm and orderly, if you can find what you need, then it’s organized. But organization is every bit as much about usefulness as it is about appearance, and something is only useful if you use it.

How much your workspace, your files, or your tools need to be organized to increase your productivity is a personal issue and dependent upon the kind of work you do, but it’s important that you look at your organizational system and the amount of energy you invest into it and ask “Is this helping me get more done?” If your efforts to organize aren’t actually helping you do things more effeciently and get more done then the organization itself is at best a hobby or sorts and at worst a form of procrastination.

How do you strike a balance between getting ready and organized to work and actually getting work done? Share your tips in the comments.

Filed under: Video, Podcasting

It’s Wednesday, which means that we’ll have an episode of TUAW TV Live streaming your way later today. This is our first live video since Macworld Expo, where TUAW bloggers of all shapes, sizes, and abilities took to the airwaves to give you the scoop on every topic imaginable.

We’ll be back at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) with an hour full of fun discussion. We’ll have a demo of the OWLE Bubo that was mocked by TUAW commenters, yet praised and photographed repeatedly by showgoers at Macworld Expo. I’ll also demonstrate and discuss a growing toolbox of iPhone photography apps that I’ve been using over the last few months for my 2010 Project 365. There’s always time for questions and discussion in the chat room, and we look forward to hearing what you have to say about this year’s Macworld event.

See you at 5 PM ET, here at TUAW.com!

TUAWTUAW TV Live: more on the aftermath of Macworld Expo at 5 PM ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Finding a photographer isn’t the easiest task. Most don’t have storefronts or even formal studios. Snapm can help you find and compare photographers for your next event.

Snapm is a place for professional photographers to promote themselves by showing off their portfolios. Search in a given zip zode and Snapm will show you local photographers, their sample portfolios, and additional information like a bio, their specialities, colleague reviews and customer reviews, and their rates.

It’s a great way to find photographers whose work you like and whose rates fit with the budget for your company or family event that you may never have come across otherwise. If you’re a photographer yourself you can list yourself and increase your visibility. You can search Snapm at the link below—if you don’t find anyone in your locale you can always check out this listing to get a feel for what the Snapm listings look like.

Have a favorite service for finding photographers or for advertising your own work? Let’s hear about it in the comments.

Buying new gear will only get you so far in the world of photography. It might make things easier, but what really matters most is confidence and practice in lieu of schilling out your hard-earned cash.

Photo by seanmcgrath.

Photography weblog Photo Focus has recently shared their top 10 tips on knuckling under and making yourself a better photographer, surprisingly the entire list forgoes money or better equipment.

• Be objective. Be open to constructive critiques of your work. Step back and get rid of your emotional attachment to your images. Analyze them as a stranger would. Check yourself – to see if you’re hitting the mark you set for yourself. Be willing to admit when you’re wrong and learn from it.

Your goal is to make your work appear effortless, but to accomplish that, stepping outside of your comfort zone is a must. Many of the rest of the tips given boil down to the old standby rule of practice, practice, practice. It may not seem like a great fix when that new camera or piece of equipment looks so appealing, but the new gear isn’t going anywhere, and you can always buy it after you’ve boosted your skills a little. Check out Photo Focus’ full list of 10 ways to improve your skills without buying new gear. Got something you’d add? Sound off in the comments.

Originally posted 2009-10-14 18:25:25. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Ricoh’s CX2 seemed to impress a-many reviewer when it launched last autumn, so it’s sort of odd to see the camera’s successor hitting the market so soon after. The appropriately named CX3 recent sat down on the test bench over at Photography BLOG, and while critics were quick to point out how appreciative they were of the extras (a 720p movie mode, namely), they couldn’t help but notice what a small step forward this was from the prior model. In fact, they found little to no good reason for existing CX2 owners to upgrade, though they did deem the image quality to be “excellent” and noted that newcomers shouldn’t hesitate to give this one a whirl. Still, we were disappointed to hear that the low-light performance was underwhelming despite promises that it had been improved, and for $400, you’ve got a lot of other options in the point-and-shoot realm.

Ricoh CX3 reviewed, just marginally better than CX2 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On New Year’s day we asked you to share your New Year’s resolutions, and you responded with great goals and lots of encouragement for one another. Here’s a closer look at what you and your fellow Lifehacker readers have planned for 2010.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

The biggest segment of readers is aiming for general self improvement goals—they want to stop procrastinating, get better sleep, stay organized, and achieve other similar ends. The second largest group, unsurprisingly, want to get in better shape—including exercise and weight loss. The third major group wants to learn/hone a skill or further their education. Readers with this goal wanted to tackle skills involving photography, programming (we can help you there), cooking, grad school, and more.

If you’re looking for some resolution inspiration, head over to read more specifics of what your fellow readers have chosen to resolve in 2010.

A new year is a key time to start some new projects. Taking one photo per day is one way to put a framework on your creativity, and these tips from a 365 project veteran can help you get there.

Blogger Dawnstar Australis captured a frame for every day of his 29th year on Earth, and was fairly pleased with the results. You don’t have to do it that way, however, and picking your own parameters is an important part of the process, Dawnstar writes:

• Consider making something with the result in a years time. Some people have made time lapse videos, others calendars for the family. I’m planning on making a book.
• Pick a date that means something to you. Sure January 1 is a good time to kick off one of these projects but is there another annual date that means something to you? I opted to use my birthday for this project because it’s my last year in my 20’s and it feels like somewhat of a turning point in my life.
• Not got time for a full 365 project? Consider a 52 project. One photo a week is doable and will still keep you in the game photography wise.

If you’re plotting a 365-ish project for 2010, do let us know about it, and link it, in the comments.

Green lovers have been patiently waiting for the commercialized version of OLPC’s pull-string laptop charger, but in the meantime Easy Energy’s YoGen should tide yank-happy hands over. Pulling the charger’s lawnmower-style ripcord generates enough power through its patented alternator technology to charge up phones, iPods and a slew of other handheld gadgets. According to YoGen charging time is similar to that of standard AC adapters and gadgets can be brought back to life with just a few pulls — as can be seen in the incredibly realistic videos below where YoGens magically appear to save the day, jump start an iPhone and help a man lie to his wife. Formal launch is due at CES, but those that can’t wait to strengthen their hand muscles can preorder one now on YoGen’s website for 40 bucks.

Continue reading YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly

YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Audio, iLife, How-tos, Podcasting, iPhone, iPod touch

I love podcasting.

My first podcasts weren’t really podcasts, just recordings that I made and uploaded to a website in the late 90’s so that other people could listen to them. Unlike the podcasts we know and love today, there was no way to subscribe to all of the episodes that I recorded. When podcasting as we know it hit the world in 2004, I started hosting podcasts through one of my companies.

Despite creating two long-running podcasts between 2004 and 2007, I finally gave up because of the time involved. Part of the problem was due to me being a stickler for perfection in my podcasts, while the rest was due to the fact that I was stuck with podcasting when I was near my iMac and could edit and update a feed file on a regular basis.

Earlier this month, I decided that I wanted to start up a personal podcast again. Yeah, I talk about tech, but for the most part I wanted this to be a free-form podcast that could talk about photography one day, music the next, and the joys of being a cat owner the third. Since my calendar is already pretty well jammed, the only way I was going to be able to commit to doing a podcast every day was to get the podcast workflow down to as little time as possible.

Continue reading Quick and easy podcasting with an iPhone 3GS, GarageBand, and Posterous

TUAWQuick and easy podcasting with an iPhone 3GS, GarageBand, and Posterous originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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