Recording

Offbeat photo apps to make something unique on your iPhone

Photo taking apps are a dime a dozen in the App Store, but if you look a little deeper, you can make some really cool projects as long as you use some creativity.

Instead of simply giving your photos a retro look like many of the popular camera apps, there are a number of options that turn your images into a creative project in which you can use your imagination to come up with something unique.

This week's collection of apps are all about doing something different with your images on your iPhone. The first quickly turns your photos … Read more

Record voice audio and more with Moo0 VoiceRecorder

Moo0 VoiceRecorder is a supersimple sound-recording app for Windows. With a few clicks, you can start recording your voice and other sounds via microphone. But VoiceRecorder also records system audio, including Web audio, Skype, Internet radio, and line-level audio via external inputs. It supports just two formats, but they're the most common types, WAV and MP3, and it offers Cut Silence and Over-Write options. You'll need a microphone to record voice audio, obviously.

VoiceRecorder's semitransparent interface can be customized from the Setting menu, which is where this simple program hides all the bells and whistles, such as … Read more

Usain Bolt breaks tweets-per-minute record during 200M

Not only did Jamaican Olympian Usain Bolt tear across the finish line winning the 200-meter sprint today, he also triumphed on the Internet. Bolt fans tweeted a record 80,000 tweets-per-minute as the runner overtook his competitors in the race.

"Record alert!" Twitter announced in a tweet earlier today. "@usainbolt sets a new Olympic Games conversation record with over 80,000 TPM for his 200m victory."

Bolt, 25, finished the race in 19.32 seconds winning the gold and beating fellow Jamaicans Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, who came in second and third respectively, according to … Read more

The 404 1,096: Where we try this again (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 show:

- 'People' defend Chic-fil-A on Facebook.

- Chick-fil-A cashier fired for racist receipts.

- Old records outsell new ones for the first time.

- Circuit City's in-home TV calibration is a total scam.… Read more

Stabilize your smartphone moviemaking with iStabilizer Dolly and Glidepro

With decent lighting and a modern smartphone, you can shoot some pretty impressive movies.

Take "Olive," a feature-length film shot entirely on a Nokia N8. And Chan-wook Park shot a 30-minute movie, "Paranmanjang," using only an iPhone.

Of course, there's only so much you can accomplish holding your phone in those shaky hands of yours. If you want rock-steady images, you'll need some accessories.… Read more

YouTube breaks records with 4M Creative Commons videos

YouTube topped all records today by tallying up 4 million Creative Commons-licensed videos in its trove -- more than any other video hosting company in the world.

This means that users have literally millions of choices for snipping bits of footage, adding scenes, and building onto videos they're making. Everything in this collection comes branded with the Creative Commons Attribution license, meaning users don't have to get explicit permission to use the content from the creators.

YouTube launched its Creative Commons video library last year and since then it said its users have added in "40 years' … Read more

D.C. chief allows citizens to record and photograph police

Cell phone videos and photos have increasingly brought law enforcement activities to the public eye, such as the killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland, Calif., and crowd control tactics during the Occupy Wall Street protests. But this has also meant that police are more wary of camera-toting citizens.

However, Washington D.C.'s police chief, Cathy Lanier, recently announced that cops are going to have to learn to live with people recording and snapping photos of them, according to DCist. In a six-page General Order, Lanier outlines specific do's and don'ts that her staff must adhere to when … Read more

Are music streaming services reducing the number of albums released?

Opinions about the future of the music business cover a lot of ground, but one thing is certain: today's bands release albums at a much slower pace than bands did in previous eras. It's not just that Spotify and other streaming services have been taking their toll on sales; I doubt too many of today's top artists make albums at the rate Bob Dylan did early in his career. He released 21 albums between 1962-1981. The Beatles were even more prolific and released five albums in the U.S. in 1964: "Meet The Beatles!," "… Read more

My Tracks records your runs

Perfect for outdoors enthusiasts, Google's My Tracks app records your path, speed, distance, and even elevation while you walk, run, bike, or do anything else that a GPS signal can follow. And for those who are a bit more serious about their training, the app even lets you hook up with a few third-party Bluetooth biometric sensors, including Zephyr HxM, Polar WearLink, and ANT+ monitors.

To get started, just open up My Tracks and hit the record button at the top of the screen. From there, so long as you have a strong GPS signal, My Tracks will plot … Read more