Home 2018 May

Save the Earth – recycle your chewing gum!

Some inconsiderate gum-chewers spit out their chewed gum on sidewalks or floors or stick it on furniture, where it always ends up on somebody’s shoe or on their clothing.  It reportedly costs UK city councils £150 million pounds a year to remove chewing gum litter from their streets.  I don’t know if there’s a gum removal squad in my city, but I’m sure cleaning up gum in businesses in the area is an extra chore the cleaning staff doesn’t want or need.  And even when it’s tossed out in a garbage can, the gum just adds to the landfill.  Did you know that chewing gum can be recycled?  I’m pretty sure that gum isn’t on the recyclables list in Greensboro, but if I had a Gumdrop On-the-Go keychain fob, I could cleanly collect my used gum and send it off to a company that does recycle it.

Gumdrop LTD, a UK company, has a method to recycle used gum into a product called Gum-tec® that can be used to make products from wellington boots, to mobile phone covers, stationery, packaging, and much more.  Gum-tec® is actually used to produce the Gumdrop fobs and receptacles.  The first step in recycling is collecting the gum, which is done by the Gumdrop On-the-Go keychain fob that looks like a pink bubblegum bubble.  Stuff your used gum in the fob, and when it’s filled, you send it to be recycled.

Sending it off for recycling can be accomplished in a couple of ways.  If you’re lucky enough to live in a city with a gum recycling program, you’ll see bins (like the one above) where you can drop off your filled fob.  Businesses could also provide the drop-off bins if they participate in Gumdrop’s program.  If not, you can print out a free mailing label so you can mail your On-the-Go fobs directly to Gumdrop.  Your gum, fob and all, will be recycled into more Gum-tec® products.

The Gumdrop On-the-Go fobs cost £9.99 (about $13.35 US) for a set of three.  Learn more about Gumdrop products and recycling chewing gum at the Gumdrop website.

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Save the Earth – recycle your chewing gum! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 29, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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BatchPhoto software review

If you work much with digital photos, sooner or later you’ll probably come across the need to edit a batch of photos, applying some form of edit to all of them. Regardless of whether or not you use something like Photoshop, Lightroom, or another image editor, sometimes the right tool for this job is one specifically designed for batch operations – like BatchPhoto from Bits&Coffee.

What is it?

BatchPhoto is a batch photo editing software program for Windows and Mac that can process multiple photos in an automated or semi-automated manner, applying specified actions to each one. There are 50 edit actions that can be applied. BatchPhoto calls them filters, but they’re more than just an Instagram-like filter. These filters include things like applying text, watermarks, resizing, rotating, image touch-up, and many more. Each filter has settings so that you can customize each filter to do exactly what you want it to.

What’s in the box?

The download for BatchPhoto is 34.5MB for Windows and 56.2MB for Mac. The download includes all available versions and has the ability to unlock the full (paid) version with a product key so there’s no re-downloading and installing the paid version if you decide to buy a license.

The installation was pretty much a standard installation, nothing unusual to mention.

When you first start the program you’re presented with a dialog where you can choose which version to evaluate. There are three versions to choose from, Home, Pro, and EEnterprise.This review covers the enterprise version. For a comparison of features included in each version, see the comparison chart.

BatchPhoto is available in the following languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.

Design and features

The program uses a simple wizard-like three-step approach:

  • Step 1: Add photos.
  • Step 2: Edit Photos.
  • Step 3: Setup.

Clicking the “Process” button starts the real action of the program, processing each image with the settings you have specified.

Although the program is wizard-like, you can jump between steps at will. You can even skip step one if you’re going to be using a profile to automate the processing of images at a later time (more on profiles later).

Step 1 – Add Photos

BatchPhoto handles just about every image format there is. It can process over 170 image formats, including quite a few RAW formats (including Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, Kodak, Pentax) that photographers use. It can also output to almost all of these formats as well. Some formats can’t be output to, like RAW files that are specific to digital cameras.

You can add photos via drag and drop or browsing for specific files, or adding files from a folder or multiple folders. The photos list also includes multiple view modes such as detail list, small icons, medium icons, and large icons (icon meaning thumbnails). A Preview window is also in this step and supports zooming.


Step 2: Edit Photos

In this step, you specify filters and file renaming options. This is the heart of the program. There are 50 filters, each with its own customizable settings. You can do just about anything that you would want to automate.

There are far too many filters here to cover each one individually, but I’ll include screenshots of the filters here, along with a couple of their edit dialogs as well.








Step 3: Setup

This is where you setup the output options. You can specify the output folder, output format, and other miscellaneous options.

The output options are:

  • Folder on your computer
  • Send via E-mail
  • Upload to FTP
  • Upload to Flickr
  • Upload to Facebook

PDF, TIF, and GIF output formats can create multi-page files where all of the images are included in a single file.

There are also settings for setting the output photo’s date and attributes to match the original file, as well as an option to delete the source file after processing.


Processing

One of the key features of BatchPhoto is its ability to process multiple photos at the same time, greatly reducing the time it takes to process photos. For those who are into technical stuff, this means it will use multiple threads to process the photos. There’s also an option to turn this off if you want.

One of the things I really like is that you can save your settings as a profile for easily loading those settings later, and applying them to batch operations using the “watch folder” feature of the included monitor program. For example, you might have one profile for processing “proof” images, and another profile to process “final” images or one for outputting small images and one for outputting large images.

One thing I did note is that you save the profile via the file menu, but you load them via the wizard menu. BatchPhoto includes many pre-defined profiles for your convenience including a “Convert to PDF Album” that will output your photos to a PDF file and a “Send via E-mail” profile.


Automated processing

BatchPhoto includes a utility program called Monitor. It can be launched and will run separately from the main program. It can be configured to watch a local or FTP folder for new files. When the new files are detected, it will process them automatically based on a specified profile.

This is a very powerful feature for users that want to automate the processing of files. An example use would be to automatically process and upload files simply by copying or moving them to a watched folder. As soon as that folder is checked (at an interval that you specify), the new files are automatically processed.



Semi-Automated processing

BatchPhoto also includes the option to integrate into the Windows Explorer shell. You can simply select your images, then right click and choose BatchPhoto then Apply Profile and the program will prompt you to select a profile and the selected images will be processed with that profile.

What I like

  • Very versatile in input and output formats
  • Video tutorials on the BatchPhoto website.
  • Profiles for quickly specifying options
  • Output option for processing the files to a subfolder of the original folder.
  • Configurable file renaming options.
  • Multiple thread output. 7 threads on an 8 CPU (4 Core) system.

What needs to be improved

  • I would like to see a ZIP output format where all the files would be created and then moved into a zip file.
  • I saw errors outputting files using the grunge frame with multiple files while using multi-processing. The error did not occur when the setting was turned off.

Final thoughts

BatchPhoto is an excellent batch photo processing solution. It provides powerful editing features, superb configuration options, as well as great output formats and destinations. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional, you’ll probably find that this program will meet most, if not all, of your needs.

Price: $29.95 – $129.95
Where to buy: BatchPhoto
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Bits&Coffee

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BatchPhoto software review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 29, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Give Dad a toiletry kit bag that could sail the Seven Seas

Toiletry kit bags for men are usually made of leather, but leather can be damaged by water from shaving gear that has to be packed away before it’s had time to dry or from leaking toiletries.  With the Black Carbon Fiber Toiletry Kit from RAGGEDedge Gear, water and spills won’t hurt a thing.  The bag is made of  black carbon fiber laminate sailcloth, so it will repel water and smells and is a cinch to wipe clean.

The folks at RAGGEDedge gear are competitive sailors, and they know that “laminate sailcloths are hard core materials, engineered specifically to perform in a wet environment, very efficiently turn wind into power, and maintain their integrity for the duration of their life as a sail. These materials are essentially the engine of Americas Cup boats, highly competitive one design classes, and other high end yachts.”  They knew this material would lend itself to making wallets, gear bags, and other accessories that will hold up to wear.

The bag measures 10” long x 5” tall x 4.5” wide.  It has an interior pocket to corral smaller items.  The marine-grade zipper won’t corrode, no matter how tough you are on your gear.  There’s a grab handle that can also be used to hang the bag.

The Black Carbon Fiber Toiletry Kit is $70.00 at RAGGEDedge Gear.

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Give Dad a toiletry kit bag that could sail the Seven Seas originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 29, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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The new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens may be the best of the best!


I am pretty sure that by now that many of my fellow photographers, and especially macro photographers, are anxiously awaiting the release of the Sigma’s new art lenses. I am referring specifically to the new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens.

As the first true macro lens in the Sigma Art series, it is designed to prioritize optical performance above all else. This lens is a true 1:1 macro lens, and as a part of the Art series, I am expecting it to be well made, and to provide “crisp” photos with great clarity and sharpness.

The lens is designed with a “focus-by-wire” system that eliminates any direct mechanical contact between the focus ring and the focus drive. According to Sigma, “all of this adds up to a lens capable of razor-sharp, well-delineated focus with beautiful bokeh”.

A new coreless DC motor assists with the task of acquiring focus with minimal noise, while the full-time manual focus remains available during autofocus. The lens is built in a dust and splash proof body, and it is compatible with the Sigma USB Dock that can be purchased separately. The initial release will be for Canon and Sigma mounts, with others to follow.

If you interested in the new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens, you can preorder one at B&H Photo Video for $569.

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LifeProof Goa 22L Backpack review

What is it?

You know the company, LifeProof, who created those insanely durable smartphone cases back in 2013? Well, it turns out there’s a demand for many of the products in our lives to be “life proof” or, protected from water, snow, dirt, and drop damage, including our backpacks! LifeProof has created such a backpack with the Goa 22L Backpack and it is pretty awesome.

What’s in the box?

In the box came the beautiful, black and green LifeProof backpack, alone. I fell in love at first sight.

Design and features

This heavy-duty pack has a multitude of features that set it aside its competition. It’s made from a water-repellent fabric, and even has a sealed, fleeced lined weather-resistant tech pocket that holds up to an iPhone 8 Plus. The tech pocket has a pass-through for cords like headphones and charging cables. If that pocket wasn’t cool enough, there’s also a hydration reservoir pocket that holds up to 3 liters, so you’ll always be hydrated on your adventures. There’s a detachable chest strap for extra comfort, and plenty of convenient smaller pockets on the inside to keep your gear organized. The exterior has 4 side stash pockets for smaller items like passports, wallets, etc. Also found on the outside is a separate reinforced laptop and/or tablet side pocket with padding to keep your electronics safe.


What I like

What I like the most about this pack is the padded laptop pocket, because it’s perfect for me as a traveling student journalist. I adore the ergonomic straps that make the pack completely comfortable, no matter how heavy I make it. The lifeproof-ness is something I particularly favor, also!

What needs to be improved

There isn’t much that I can see needs to be improved with this pack. It comes in 4 sizes, so it can appeal to almost anyone. Though I’m assuming it isn’t 100% waterproof, (I’m not going to soak it in the ocean to find out…) it is water resistant, meaning I can wear it out in the rain, and I plan to! The only thing I can think of is adding the option for more colors or styles. But, this company is pretty on-the-ball, so I’m sure they’ve already considered that.

Final thoughts

This is a greatly anticipated, well designed, nearly flawless backpack and I plan to keep using it for a  long time, being as it will last me a very very very long time! Go LifeProof!

Price: $159.99
Where to buy: https://www.lifeproof.com/en-us/backpacks-coming-soon.html
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Lifeproof.

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LifeProof Goa 22L Backpack review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 28, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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