The dust has barely settled from the Instagram policy fumble, but it looks like parent company Facebook might be in for a similar upheaval.
The company's recently proposed changes to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Data Use Policy -- which were supposed to take effect on the 5th -- have been delayed after users and privacy groups alike have voiced serious concerns.
Back when Instagram first came on the scene -- you know, before Facebook paid 735 Million dollars to snatch the company up before Twitter could get its hands on it -- the photo sharing app actually encouraged connected apps to use the terms "insta" and "gram" in their names. Thus were born services like Statigram, Webstagram, Luxogram and more.
But a recent change to the company's brand guidelines has Instagram taking a step back and banning any app that would like to use its API from using either of the terms if they would like to enjoy continued access.
You probably wouldn't know it by looking at me, but I belong to a gym.
It's not the fanciest gym on the planet, but it's reasonably nice and the only gym in town that also has an indoor and outdoor pool. And a big glass water dispenser at the front desk with lemons in it. I'm a sucker for a nice water dispenser. My husband and I joined the gym years ago, stopped for awhile, and then rejoined with our children.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are due on stage in 15 minutes and I walk up to the doorstaff ticket in hand. They tear the ticket and ask to look in the camera bag for deodorants and liquids. I'm not too sure why. This is the Trinity Centre in Bristol with a capacity of 650 and normally holds community events.
The doorman tuts and says “Interchangeable lens.” I'm a bit confused. “Tour manager has said no interchangeable lens cameras, sorry.” I returned to my car, out the equipment in the boot and went back to the gig.
Most people in today's society have a mobile phone. Most mobile phones have cameras. Anyone and everyone has become an on-the-scene photojournalist, reporting on everything from major news events to the odd and crazy.
Some of these picture-worthy events take place on everyday flights. Shutter-happy passengers, snapping or even video recording the woman on the next aisle over acting unusual or a fellow passenger being disruptive. It's undeniable that we are curious beings, and want to document and share events we witness. But not everyone is pleased citizen photojournalists.
If you're planning to attend the Kentucky Derby early next month, you might want to make sure you'll be content with capturing your memories with a smartphone or point-and-shoot. Churchill Downs, the racetrack that hosts the famous horse race, has unveiled new security measures that will prevent attendees from bringing certain items onto the grounds. Among them: all interchangeable lens cameras.
'Showrooming' is something that's having a big effect in the camera equipment industry and something that many brick-and-mortar retailers are trying to address. It's when consumers walk into a store not with the intention of actually purchasing a camera or lens, but instead to play around with them and evaluate them in person before making the actual purchase for a lower price online.
One store over in Brisbane, Australia has come up with a novel strategy (but not so consumer friendly) for combatting showrooming. To ensure that only customers looking to purchase products walk through their doors, the store is charging a $5 fee just to browse its wares.
"Deadly sniper shot through the lens." That's the title of a photoblog entry published over on Reuters last week by staff photographer Goran Tomasevic, who's covering the deadly conflict in Syria. The photo above was accompanied by the text, "A tank fired a couple of shells onto the top of the building and rubble fell down around us."
Over the last few days, many Instagram and Facebook users received a nasty shock when they were unceremoniously locked out of their accounts. The lock-out was accompanied by a message asking for government-issued proof of ID before being let back in.
If these were famous people or celebrities, that would be understandable. But all manner of users have been locked out of their accounts over the last week pending identification; some are even being asked to provide birth certificates if their IDs are deemed unacceptable.
If you live in California and have been eyeing some camera gear on Amazon, you might want to bust out your wallet and make the purchase this week. On September 15th, 2012, Amazon will start collecting sales tax for purchases made from California. The tax rate ranges from 7.25% to 9.75% depending on where you live, so the cost difference could be quite significant depending on what you buy. For a $1,500 camera or lens, the tax could be as heavy as $150.
Bad news for photographers in Southern California: the Los Angeles Police Department issued a notice regarding its official terrorism handling policy earlier this week, and the document still identifies photographers as potential terrorists.
Remember Facebook's "zombie photo" problem? Photos that users deleted on the website actually remained very much alive on Facebook's servers, available to anyone who held on to the images' URLs. Earlier this year Facebook acknowledged the issue and promised changes that would ensure permanent deletion within 45 days.
Now, it appears that Facebook has honored its word. The company tells Ars Technica that deleted photographs are now vaporized from the web within 30 days -- a claim that Ars has confirmed through tests.
In mid-January, Nikon sent an letter out to independent camera repair technicians across the US, informing them that “it …
Adobe caused a stir last November after changing its upgrade policy to only cover one version back …
If you’ve been waiting to upgrade Photoshop CS3 or CS4 to CS6 when it’s released sometime next year, here’s …
According to Nikon Rumors, Nikon has introduced a new Unilateral Pricing Policy on DSLR gear sold in the US that will take effect on October 16th. Saying that the policy is "designed to allow customers to make purchasing decisions based on service provided and not have to worry about hunting for a better price", Nikon plans to withhold sales to any store caught pricing equipment below "national prices" that the company will set for each product.
Apparently Nikon has decide to save some trees (and shipping weight) by no longer including user manuals in some of its digital cameras. Since most people likely never touch the manuals anyway, it's not really a problem, but the company's draconian stance towards downloadable instruction manuals has some customers grumbling.
One of the big complaints users (or ex-users) have against Flickr is that its account deletion process is …
The White House is ending its long-running practice of reenacting speeches for still photographs after the controversy was rekindled last week by President Obama's Osama bin Laden speech.
When Mirco Wilhelm tried to log into his Flickr account yesterday, he was surprised to find that his 5-year-old Pro account with roughly 4,000 photographs had completely vanished. It then dawned on him that only a week earlier he had reported another account for posting stolen photographs.