Used to be pretty easy to build 360 panos on the web using some software and exporting to quicktime 360 VR file. But, looks like Apple is possibly phasing out QTVR, judging from the lack of hotspot support in safari and 10.7, and ios (at least with the pano-creating software that I've used in the past). So, onwards to newer, better solutions.
I had a need to create and view panos that a) play well with modern browsers, can be seen on an ios device (i.e. no flash player), and b) have the ability to create linkable hotspots. As I tend to stitch the panos in photshop, I wasn't looking for photo-stitching software, but only software that would be able to take the stitched photo and create a web presentation that met the above requirements. I researched jquery solutions, but I found nothing that supported all the requirements, or had enough documentation or development to suggest that the solutions found would work now into the next few years.Two contenders stand out at this time: krpano.com and pano2vr.
krpano seems to be more customizable, though with a steeper learning curve. Both create flash panos for web browsers, or, if the browser supports html5, will present it in that manner.
A few free firefox plugins that I know of:
http://www.bestvideodownloader.com/
This one can save youtube videos as flvs, or convert to m4s.
http://www.downloadhelper.net/
Can save or convert to a variety of different formats. Doesn't seem to work with a few videos I've thrown at it, however.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-converter/
Ditto.
Free online converters
http://benderconverter.com/
Only allows one video conversion a day, but can convert to a variety of different formats.
http://www.clipconverter.cc
Ditto.
http://www.flv2mp3.com/
Only a few different formats available to convert to.
Another freebie software program for both mac and pc platforms is Adapter (http://www.macroplant.com/adapter/). Can convert flv files, along with the other flavors you might expect (avi, dv, gif, mov, mp4, m4a, 3gp, 3g2, mpeg, wav, rm). Looks pretty promising. Still in beta, we'll see if there will be a small charge after the 1.0 release.
This is a nifty box that convert RCA or S-video video signal inputs (think from a VCR or videocamera) to be converted into a feed that a mac will recognize as a camera source. Great for when you have an HD camcorder with rca outs that you want to capture directly into your computer via firewire. No software or drivers to install, whew!
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Canopus+ADVC+110&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=269215179114444092&ei=M-ELTenFMpTAsAPMyIzYCg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDsQ8wIwAg#
What sort of web services are being used by your current x-serve? Web admin, streaming services, podcast producer? Perhaps those services should begin transitioning over the next two years to new non-apple servers, before the current servers go belly up?
There's been some developments to have a bit more of a choice of fonts available for web display, giving designers a bit more choice. Most recently, Adobe and Typekit have collaborated to offer 16 families of typefaces. Google has offered fonts for website usage for awhile now.
Been trying to find a nice way to implement html5 for content, but without needing to export the media into two different formats, or rely on a fallback flash player to play the media. So far not so much luck, drats.
UPDATE: Looks like there's a new video codec called VP8 in town thanks to google. Read more on the WebM Project's page.
Interesting 3D objects that can be found on some objects in Google Earth, made by this company.
http://www.arsights.com/
There's a plugin that can be used for viewing any 3D object in google sketchup as well.
An ongoing exploration of the iPad.
FAQs:
Where's the manual?
How to transfer/sync files (pdf, word docs, movie files, audio files, etc) to and from the iPad? Does it sync wirelessly to computer(s) via Bluetooth, or does it have to be docked? Does it have support for WDAV, which supports DropBox, Mobile Me, etc?
There's a few apps out there that specifically transfer files - Desktop Connect, at $11.99, is the most inexpensive. Other apps provide syncing built-in to their main application (such as pdf annotation).
Transfer keynote presentations
How to create epub books to read them in iBook?
You can create epubs from Indesign (see useful apps section). Or, you can follow these instructions for another app, calibre, which has info on how to transfer the epub document to the iPad:
http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/04/05/how-to-convert-pdf-files-to-epub-files-to-read-on-your-ipad-with-ibooks/
How to sync multiple calendars?
Can it be used with more than one user (syncing, itunes store accounts, kindle accounts, etc), or is meant to be only one user per iPad?
Can it print documents to printers, or do you have to sync/send the document to a computer to print out?
Currently there's an app that can do that, PrintCentral. Not sure if iPad 2.0 will have a print feature built-in. There's a review of other printing apps for the iPad at this website.
What extensions can be added?
Any Apple Wireless Keyboard will work with the iPad.
Video: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/05/found-footage-how-to-connect-an-ipad-to-your-existing-wireless/
Can you connect to a TV?
You can connect the iPad to your television. You'll need the Apple iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter, which connects to the 30-pin port on the iPad and to the VGA port on your HD.
How to reboot?
You can reboot the iPad by holding down both the Home and Power button for a few seconds until the device reboots.
How to take a screenshot?
Like the iPhone, you can take a screenshot by pressing Home and then the power button. Images are saved automatically in the Photos gallery. Here, you can view or email them.
Save an image from the web?
Tap and hold on an image on a webpage, and you’ll be prompted to save the image.
How to add bookmarks toolbar to safari?
http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/04/05/how-to-enable-and-add-bookmarks-to-the-safari-bookmarks-bar-on-your-ipad/
Useful apps:
epub creation
InDesign can create epubs; however, scanned pdfs are imported as images, so annotation may be difficult, and words won't reflow in portrait or landscape mode.
http://blogs.adobe.com/digitaleditions/indesign-epub.html
Calibre can create epubs; this link has info on how to transfer the epub document to the iPad:
http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/04/05/how-to-convert-pdf-files-to-epub-files-to-read-on-your-ipad-with-ibooks/
pdf/ebpub readers
Several pdf readers out there - GoodReader, PDF Reader, Document Reader - but they need to be tested to see if they can be used as annotation tools, and whether these annotated pdfs can then be synced or sent to transfer area with the annotations intact.
iBook (free)
native iPad app to read ebooks.
iannotate app ($6.99 sale price)
Coming soon (as of early April). Can annotate pdfs. Possibly requires an app to be loaded onto the mac to sync up pdfs.
store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iannotate-pdf/id363998953?mt=8
forum: http://jbrink.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=144
kindle app (free)
syncs your kindle account with the iPad
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kindle/id302584613?mt=8
General productivity and other apps
Pages, Keynote ($9.99 each)
Like the mac versions - creates text or presentation documents (or reads ones created from another mac, though be wary of font and complex layout issues)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8
How to transfer keynote presentations:
http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/04/04/how-to-export-keynote-for-ipad-presentations-to-your-mac-or-pc/
How to transfer Pages or word docs:
http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/04/03/how-to-import-documents-to-pages-on-your-ipad/
SketchbookPro ($7.99)
Paint and drawing app.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro/id364253478?mt=8
OmniGraffle ($49.99)
Makes diagrams, page layouts, sketches, etc.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/omnigraffle/id363225984?mt=8
The Elements ($13.99)
View the periodic table in interesting ways; visually nice and informative, but doesn't have too much additional tools such as Elemints.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/element-collection-inc/id364147850
EleMints ($4.99)
Interactive periodic table, plus plot graph, element listing, molar mass calculator, etc.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/app-kainime/id292771260
Desktop Connect ($11.99)
Connects iPad to any computer; a few other apps out there that do similar things.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/antecea-inc/id301589538
Netflix (free)
Stream videos from a netflix account to the iPad.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/netflix/id363590051?mt=8
Instapaper ($4.99)
Save webpages for later reading; good if you plan on reading something offline later.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instapaper-pro/id288545208?mt=8
PrintCentral ($9.99)
View, store, and print email, documents, pics, webpages, etc.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/printcentral-for-all-your/id363371015?mt=8
There's an evergrowing number of useful apps listed on webpages; here's one for high school usage.
Here's a link to review of 12 free screencapture tools; this adds to the other (paid) ones I've mentioned, screenflow and wirecast.
Mixed reviews so far about google wave; it does seem to hold promise for an online collaboration tool, provided that everyone is using it and checks it. However, it's another app to keep running in the background, and the sheer number of messages from popular waves can be daunting. That said, here's a few links on google wave:
desktop app for macs (rather than running it on your browser):
http://www.getwaveboard.com/2009/11/mac-version-0-11-available/
couple of helpful wave 101 urls:
http://lifehacker.com/5376138/google-wave-101
http://completewaveguide.com/guide/The_Complete_Guide_to_Google_Wave
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_wave_use_cases_education.php
wave gadgets:
http://techpp.com/2009/10/14/ultimate-list-of-google-wave-gadgets-and-tools/
UPDATE: 8/5/2010
Google will be stopping further development of this application. Ah well.
Here's a program out there that can record both video and audio skype conversations, and provides a variety of options - even recording both participants' videos and audio.
skype recorder
Looking for an easy to use freeware option for recording audio, but only thing so far is a 2-app answer.
Here's a brief list of charts and graphs coding libraries that are out there on the web; some use flash, while others use jquery. These charts and graphs are auto-generated, ie you don't need an excel worksheet to generate a graph image that then needs to be imported to your webpages - you just have the data in the webpages (or an xml file), and it will generate the graphs for you. Updating the graphs can be as easy as updating the appropriate file. Another note: test these out on different browsers; I haven't tested these to see which are compatible with the modern browsers out there yet.
amcharts
A nice flash-based plugin. An example of these are on this Reed webpage.
Plotkit
This one looks pretty good, has examples on their page, as well as documentation.
CSS graphs
This page has a collection of 10 free CSS graph resources. Unfortunately several of the links are broken.
flot
this seems to be promising; haven't delved into it, but it has some examples and documentation. Another website shows an example of jquery combined with flot.
jquery and canvas
This one creates accessible charts using canvas and jquery.
tuftegraph
Another jquery graph plugin, using the Tufte brand name. Didn't look as user-friendly as other graph generators out there and there was limited documentation and examples, but it still looks good.
Ajax MGraph
This one uses the prototype js library and css. Limited documentation and examples, but it claims to be able to use data froma database file, xml file, etc.
Video Capture Software: BoinxTV and Wirecast
Both of these seem to be pretty good mixing projects for mixing from multiple sources and mixing on-the-fly, which is what might be good for recording a lecture video feed from a camera, as well as a feed from the projector (used a vga2usb converter box).
BoinxTV: http://boinx.com/boinxtv/overview/
Wirecast: http://www.varasoftware.com/
There's several enterprise-level products out there (and reviews of them on campus technology's june 09 issue), but these ones are good for one-offs and mobile recording of lectures/conferences, etc. Would be ideal to add an extra firewire pci card to a laptop to take in two camera feeds, one of a tight shot of the presenter, and another of a wide shot of the room, in case the lecturer points out something on the screen.
Dartmouth has a nice way to present these lecture captures: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/news-events/lecture-series/jones/2009/DavidMcQueeney.html. Rather than doing a picture-in-picture, they have the lecturer in a box to the left and the screen presentation to the right.
Variations works as a digital library and learning tool, and provides streaming audio and scanned scores, as well as an ability to create playlists from multiple albums, bookmark specific sections of an audio track, and the ability to create listening drills on criteria such as the track title, composer, or other optional fields; drills can be set up as flash cards, fill in the blanks, or multiple choices. Very useful for music appreciation classes.
Macworld has a good page on video ripping tips and programs. Pretty good stuff, and up to date, as of today :)
Pretty cool stuff; here's a video of 3D Mars. 3D views of mars; just like zooming about in earth, but this time you've got Mars. Has rovers and landers markers that show the routes rovers have taken.
Go2Web20.net
Bills itself as the complete web 2.0 site directory. Lots of links here.
archive.org has been an old favorite for stills, videos, as well as the wayback machine that has an archive of old long-gone webpages, but there's a few more sites out there that I've read about in blogs. This blog lists a few good stock footage sites. Wikimedia commons is also a good one, as is public domain pictures for still images.
Public domain torrents
Another site with some good b-movie public domain movies. The site looks pretty dated and doesn't look like it's being too-actively updated, but there's some activity in the forums, and there's some good stuff to browse, nonetheless. Links are generally to torrents, so you'll need a torrent client to help you download things.
Movieland Classics
A streaming video site with a bunch of old movies on it. Cool stuff, though hard to download (old superman, flash gordon, shows from the 50s, etc), and you can't view full screen.
This blog page has a great collection of video editing and collaboration options. The blog is an upper division social media for PR class. Another post has resources for capturing web video.
UPDATE: A colleague of mine mentioned Viddler, which allows you to upload and have comments (both text and video) on specific areas of a video (doesn't allow for streaming files to be uploaded, unfortunately, which is something that's being explored). Additionally, I was sent a link to a use of flash to annotate certain sections of an audio piece; might be modifiable for video, but right now it's setup for pointing at an mp3 file.
Metavid offers a cool way to show a video (of the US Congress) along with annotations to specific spots. Nice thing about this is that the annotations scroll along with the video's playpoint. Here's a sample of metavid. This was developed specifically for this purpose, but it's built upon a open source framework.
Veotag is an online service that uses a flash player and annotates it pretty well, along with the scrolling annotation that is nice. Looks promising, but I'm not sure what the difference is between the free and paid service, and there doesn't appear to be a public/private option at this time. No easy imbedding options offered yet, either, drats.
Voicethread is another online service; it's a paid service, but allows many different ways to annotate - phone, webcam, and text. Interesting way to display the annotations/comments, as well as viewing different videos or assets. Nice zoom-in feature as well.
UPDATE #2:
Download YouTube videos.
The link mentioned above (resources for capturing web video) had some good resources for downloading YouTube videos. However, it seems that several of the links are broken (it's an older posting from 2007). Here's yet another link to a resource for downloading YouTube videos, kickyoutube.com.
UPDATE #3:
YouTube now features a beta annotation tool, which is helpful for discussing different points of a video. Not as nice as Viddler, but it's nice to have it this feature available in one site.
UPDATE 5.2010:
I received another great page of video resources from a listserv; CogDogRoo has some good stuff on online storytelling resource tools.
Zotero
A browser-based (firefox) reference tool. Similar to bookmarking a page, but on steroids. Save a link, notes, and bibliographic reference for a webpage, saved searches, tags, etc. Free, opensource.
slideshare
Add slides, pdfs, music, powerpoint docs, etc, and share with others.
sliderocket
Way more slicker. Offers keynote/powerpoint-ish effects and transitions, as well as ability to add videos from flick or youtube. Very nicely done.
JayCut
Allows you to store, edit, share, and export videos online. Looks like like a simplified version of iMovie. Nifty.
Jumpcut
Similar to JayCut. This one has a nice public/private sharing feature, though it doesn't appear to have a way to export videos to your desktop directly.
The Horizon Report 2009.
"The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium (NMC)’s Horizon Project, a long-running qualitative research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within learning-focused organizations. The 2009 Horizon Report is the sixth annual report in the series." (from report)
SpringWidgets
A nice rss reader that can be customized by size and color. Really nice feature is its way it consumes multiple feeds into one reader.
widgetbox
Another rss reader; a bit simpler than springwidgets, but it works alright for one rss feed. You can customize a few colors and other parameters.
