11 Things to Do Before Giving Kids an iPod/iPad/iPhone

Take these steps to keep your kids – and your wallet – safe

With its great multimedia, gaming, and Internet features, the iPod touch is loved by kids and teens the world over–and many ask for it as a present for holidays or birthdays. Parents want to oblige but may also have some concerns about giving their kids unsupervised access to the Internet. If you’re in that situation, this article offers 11 steps to take before giving your child an iPod touch or iPhone.

1. Create iTunes Account for Kid2. Set Up iPod touch or iPhone

3. Set Passcode

4. Install Apps

5. Set Content Restrictions

6. Set Up iTunes Allowance

7. Get a Case

8. Get Screen Protectors

9. Consider an Extended Warranty

10. Buy Insurance (iPhone only)

11. Learn about Hearing Damage

 
Full article By , About.com Guide (Source article here)

What is SOPA / PIPA?

What is SOPA?
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) is on the surface a bill that attempts to curb online piracy. Sadly, the proposed way it goes about doing this would devastate the online economy and the overall freedom of the web. It would particularly affect sites with heavy user generated content. Sites like Youtube, Reddit, Twitter, and others may cease to exist in their current form if this bill is passed.

What is PIPA?
The Protect IP Act (PIPA, S. 968) is SOPA’s twin in the Senate. Under current DMCA law, if a user uploads a copyrighted movie to sites like Youtube, the site isn’t held accountable so long as they provide a way to report user infringement. The user who uploaded the movie is held accountable for their actions, not the site. PIPA would change that – it would place the blame on the site itself, and would also provide a way for copyright holders to seize the site’s domain in extreme circumstances.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation laid out four excellent points as to why the bills are not only dangerous, but are also not effective for what they are trying to accomplish:

The blacklist bills are expensive. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that PIPA alone would cost the taxpayers at least $47 million over 5 years, and could cost the private sector many times more. Those costs would be carried mostly by the tech industry, hampering growth and innovation.
The blacklist bills silence legitimate speech. Rightsholders, ISPs, or the government could shut down sites with accusations of infringement, and without real due process.
The blacklist bills are bad for the architecture of the Internet. But don’t take our word for it: see the open letters that dozens of the Internet’s concerned creators have submitted to Congress about the impact the bills would have on the security of the web.
The blacklist bills won’t stop online piracy. The tools these bills would grant rightsholders are like chainsaws in an operating room: they do a lot of damage, and they aren’t very effective in the first place. The filtering methods might dissuade casual users, but they would be trivial for dedicated and technically savvy users to circumvent.

Source: http://sopablackout.org/

Jonction Ski Slope 360° GigaPan | Fraya Mzaar, Lebanon

 

Jon360

 

and one for the and for the Panoramic version (1.8 Gigapixels)

Below are some pictures from the shooting.

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Special thanks to Christian Rizk & Charbel Kanaan

GigaPan Photograph by Karim Saad | Copyright © 2011, All rights reserved.

Pigeons’ Rock, Beirut | HDR

Pigeons' Rock
Pigeons' Rock, Raouche | Beirut

This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image that I took in Beirut for the famous Pigeon’s Rock located in Raouché.

  • Camera: Canon EOS 550D
  • Lens: 24-70mm f2.8
  • Focal Length: 24 mm
  • Shutter Speed: 2 sec.
  • Number of exposures: 9 (+/-1EV)
  • Aperture: 8
  • ISO: 100

Off the coast of Raouché, there is a natural landmark called the Pigeons’ Rock (also known as the Rock of Raouché). Located at Beirut’s western-most tip, the two huge rock formations, which stand like gigantic sentinels, are a popular destination for locals and visitors alike.
Raouche’s Pigeons’ Rock has recently been featured on the front page of Microsoft’s Bing. Source: Wikipedia

Pigeon’s Rock Immersive 360° GigaPan | Raouché

Pigeon’s Rock GigaPan | 2.8 Gigapixels, December 27, 2011

Raouché (arabic: الروشة، ar-rawʂe) is a residential and commercial neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. It is known for its upscale apartment buildings, numerous restaurants, and cliff-side cafés that line Avenue de Paris, which forms part of the Corniche Beirut. The corniche or the wide, seaside sidewalk of Avenue de Paris is popular on weekends and evenings where strollers and joggers crowd the pavements.
Off the coast of Raouché, there is a natural landmark called the Pigeons’ Rock (also known as the Rock of Raouché). Located at Beirut’s western-most tip, the two huge rock formations, which stand like gigantic sentinels, are a popular destination for locals and visitors alike.
Raouche’s Pigeons’ Rock has recently been featured on the front page of Microsoft’s Bing. Source: wikipedia.org

Click her for the immersive spherical 360 panorama.

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The Making of Pictures:

The making of Video:

Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2011 GigaPan | UAE

Rugby Sevens
Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens GigaPan | 3 Gigapixels, December 3, 2011

The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2011 GigaPan was shot during the last day of Dubai Rugby Sevens 2011.
It is a spherical image.

Click here to view the ultra high resolution GigPan.
Stitch notes:
Panorama size: 2848 megapixels (75480 x 37740 pixels)
Input images: 456 (24 columns by 19 rows)
Field of view: 360.0 degrees wide by 180.0 degrees high (top=90.0, bottom=-90.0)