News From Here & There

Facebook's Mysterious Hire: The Guy Who Designed Much of the iPhone
| Marshall Kirkpatrick | ReadwriteWeb
More on the purchase of Push Pop Press by Facebook which I wrote about yesterday. This article makes it seem like they were buying Push Pop's co-founder, Mike Matas, who was a former Apple designer:

Matas designed the camera, photos, maps, settings and battery display for the iPhone. The iPhone doesn't ship with very many apps and Matas designed at least four of them. He also designed the Photos app for the iPad. He designed Time Machine and Photo Booth for the Mac. He's not Jonathan Ive, Apple's design guy at the very top, but he's pretty high profile none the less.

3D Mic Pro and immersive audio | Vincent Laforet | VincentLaforet
Vincent has been playing with the 3D Mic Pro from Mitra, and is really impressed by it. These unusual microphones capture a stereo image, and according to Vincent, the mics are essentially identical, but the 3D Indie [$695] has a phono plug, while the Pro [$999] version has two XLR plugs. Vincent has a code on his web page that will get you 15% off too.

The basic thing you need to know about this microphone, is that it has two high quality mics that are spaced apart roughly the same distance as your ears are from one another. It also utilizes a sound modifier technology which captures immersive sound just like we hear it. Most, if not all mics out there are mono mics – and a normal stereo microphone cannot record the same information in the same manner. The beauty of this system is that you can handhold the Mitra mic or put it on a small tripod and let it roll. Just monitor your levels and you can have this incredibly immersive sound out of the box. You can then mix it into 5.1 if you want as well.

Mitra: 3D Mic Pro



Zacuto Electronic Viewfinder Adds New Features | Richard Harrington
| Richard Harrington Blog
Richard just got a Zacuto EVF and he loves it; this isn't a full review by any means, but he does post some info and explains how to install the new software update.



Did Britain’s approach to copyright just grow up? | Bobbie Johnson | Gigaom
Britain's copyright laws are tougher than the US ones, but now it appears they are looking at updating them in several ways, including allowing owners of CD's to rip their discs and a change in Fair Use:

Fair use for parodies: Despite Britain’s rich tradition of satire, copyright laws are so tight that they often prevent parodies and spoofs — for example, recently preventing a broadcast of The Daily Show that lampooned U.K. politicians with footage of parliament and famously leading to the takedown of a parody of Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind. The new laws will allow satirical fair use.

Judge orders shutdown of DVD-streaming service Zediva | Timothy B. Lee
| Ars Technica
Meanwhile, here in the US a judge shuts down a web movie streaming service because "Defendants are violating Plaintiffs’ exclusive right to publicly perform their Copyrighted Works." This ruling probably shouldn't be a surprise given that years ago hotels lost essentially the same suit when they were "streaming" (in the days of analog) to hotel rooms from VHS recorders.
See also: TalkingPointsMemo: Judge Shoots Down Internet DVD Rental Service Zediva



Showrunners: Trailer for Documentary About TV Creators and Writers
| FilmmakerIQ
Info on a documentary being made about Showrunners; the writers and producers of US television drama and comedy series.



Fisheye, Macro, Wide Angle and Telephoto Lenses for your iPhone, from Photojojo | Glyn Evans | iphoneography
Photojojo now offers a kit of three lenses for your iPhone. An interesting idea, but the only reason I use the iPhone is because I carry it with me everywhere; I'm not sure I'd remember to carry these lenses - no matter how small - along with me too.



Rare Alfred Hitchcock film footage uncovered | BBC
Three reels of Hitchcock's first film were found in New Zealand:

The three reels were found among some unidentified American nitrate prints, which were left at the New Zealand Film Archive in 1989.

'Twixt' Trailer: Francis Ford Coppola's Experimental Film Debuts (VIDEO) | HuffPost
Coppola is going around the country showing the movie and recutting it as he goes:

...he would be taking the haunting mystery film on a road tour in which he'd tailor the show to each audience, each night, changing it by cutting and adding as it went along.