filters

Facebook on Thursday held an event to announce a "big idea," according to the invitation sent out last week. Immediately rumors started circulating that Facebook and Instagram were going to take on Twitter's Vine service by adding video to the popular filtered-photo social network.

The rumors were true.

As of today iOS and Android (the Android version has yet to show up in the Google Play store, but it should be there sometime today) users will be able to install Instagram 4.0, complete with a new Video on Instagram feature.

Once you have the update installed, … Read more

With YouTube already shuttered in Pakistan, Google is now reportedly facing an all-out ban in that country, according to The Times of India.

The country's new IT and telecommunication minister, Anusha Rahman Khan, announced that unless Google removes "blasphemous and objectionable material" from YouTube, the country will block access to all Google sites.

"It all depends on our negotiation clout," Khan said, according to The Times of India. "If they persist with their stance, we can block Google in Pakistan as a last resort as there are many alternative search engines available on the … Read more

DxO Labs released FilmPack 4 Wednesday, a new version of its software for photographers fond of the retro film look made possible by Instagram and similar filter-effect apps.

The software goes well beyond the usual sepia-tone and cyanotype effects. It's based on precise measurements of 60 specific types of film -- everything from Fuji Velvia to Kodak Tri-X -- to quickly endow digital photos with an old-school analog look.

Some might call it a throwback or gimmick, but plenty of shooters such as wedding photographers like such tools for quickly adding a little character or flavor.

New to the … Read more

Analog Camera is a simple photo editor from RealMac software, the same folks who made the to-do-list app Clear. Like Clear, the app is as bare bones as it gets, but the minimalist design and intuitive controls make photo sharing incredibly quick and easy.

Analog Camera is not a full-featured photo editor in the same vein as apps like KitCam or PhotoToaster. Instead, it offers only a couple of features in the interest of convenience and quick sharing. When you launch the app, you immediately see the viewfinder so you can take a picture right away. But at the top … Read more

EyeEm manages to cut through the plethora of photo editing and sharing apps on the App Store to provide a unique, engaging experience, unrivaled by many of its peers. While not a perfect solution to some common photo sharing issues, EyeEm manages to provide much needed improvements to many issues in an easy-to-use photo sharing tool.

EyeEm is very similar to other photo filtering apps, but does many things differently that make it not only slightly easier to use, but more effective. When you create your account, you can choose to immediately connect to Facebook or to register an independent … Read more

PixPlay is another in a long line of free apps on the App Store that allows you to create filtered and framed images. The app is familiar because it rehashes many of the functions also available in other free photo apps and it offers few new options.

PixPlay Filter allows you to take photos and apply one of 10 automatic filters to them, then place them in a multi-image frame that can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks. The core functionality is very familiar because it replicates what many other free photo editing apps do. In terms … Read more

Of the photo filtering apps on the Google Play store Filter Mania isn't bad by any means; it is just too filled with ads and doesn't do anything any differently from other similar apps.

This app slides ads all over your phone, including your status bar and browser. You can opt out of the ad agreement if you want, but you still have to watch out. The app requires that you log in through your Facebook account, which means you can add filters to any photo on your Facebook profile. If you want to take a picture inside … Read more

There's no question that photo apps are extremely popular on mobile devices, which is leading to an explosion in video apps. Twitter launched its own Vine app, which allows users to create 6-second films and share them across Twitter and Facebook.

Another app, Montaj, is aiming to give iPhone users another option when it comes to getting creative with short videos, albeit in a longer form than the 6-second videos you'll find in Vine. Users are able to create short videos; the default limit of clips in a Montaj is 12 (adjustable to 36 in the settings), all … Read more

Apple's Preview program is the default PDF viewer in OS X, and has a number of options for annotating and otherwise managing PDF files. One of its features is support for Quartz filters, which can be applied to PDFs and image files to convert them, for example into sepia, black-and-white, or gray scale. A Quartz filter can be used to reduce the PDF's file size, but while it's effective at doing so, you may find images in the resulting PDF too grainy to use.

These compression routines are done by adjusting the embedded image quality of the … Read more