Anthony Augustine

April 19th - Uptown Magazine

Deleting Your Instagram Account? Here’s How to Save Your Pics
Just a week ago, Instagram was a scrappy photo-sharing tool and fledgling social network that was quickly gaining ground. The service had a devoted fanbase of Apple users and was poised to take over the Android market share after racking up one million downloads on the first day it was available and surpassing five million new users within a few days. The next thing you know, Mark Zuckerberg and his mountains of Facebook cash have paid a billion dollars for a company that isn’t even two years old and creates no revenue. In reaction, some early adopters and Facebook haters now want to delete their Instagram accounts and take their photos elsewhere. (It’s sort of like when a band hits it big and some of its fans are too cool to go see it on its next tour.) For some people, Instagram’s exclusivity made it appealing. It was a mobile-only platform. It was only available to Apple. It made them feel special. Even during the initial flood of Android users, some Instragram purists were already looking for a new home; the sale to Facebook and all it represents seems to be the final straw. If you are thinking about deleting your Instagram account but are looking to save the pictures you took, Mashable breaks down your options.

Text From Dog

This brilliant new Tumblr is just what it sounds like, and it’s already in the running for Funniest Site of the Year.

MP3 of the Week – Ryan Elliot
 Ryan Elliot has always been synonymous with techno. In this new contribution to Mix Mag, the former Motor City DJ dips into his influential hometown’s history and his new life in Berlin to create the kind of timeless-yet-forward-thinking mix he has become known for.

Video of the Week: Blank Capsule – Compulsion
After laying low for a while, former Winnipegger vitaminsforyou (Bryce Kushnier) is involved in a project called Blank Capsule with Ottawa’s Jokers of the Scene (Linus Booth and Chris Macintyre) that is already creating a buzz. Along with this creepy CCTV video for its first single, Compulsion, the trio has released a seven-inch EP. Booth and Macintyre will be in town as JOTS and DJing Big Dancing at Ozzy’s on April 26. 

Winnipeg Free Press - March 29th

Instagr.am on Android

ANDROID lovers can finally stop complaining about the fact that you could only get the popular-picture sharing tool and social network Instagram on the iPhone. One of the most popular apps on Apple’s iOS is coming to Android. After taking the mobile web by storm, changing the way iPhone users look at the photos they take and creating a huge, cult-like social network that is addicted to uploading endless streams of photos, Instagram is finally expanding to other devices.

Sign up to be the first to be notified when it becomes available on Android. As usual, BlackBerry users will have to wait even longer.

Anthm

ANTHM is a new locally produced app for Apple’s iOS devices that turns your phone or iPad into a crowdsourced jukebox. Powered by rdio.com, a music streaming service similar to Spotify (sign up for a free seven-day trial), you can host a listening party and have other users in the vicinity who have downloaded the app vote on which songs should be played. It even allows people to suggest their own favourites to add to the playlist. It lets the crowd members control the music and build their own on-the-fly playlists.

Perfect for house parties, hip office settings, lounges or any place people gather where music is being played, I could even see this being popular at socials where people are willing to try something other than your regular DJ. You could have a couple of iPad stations set up for people who don’t have a device but who want to make a request. Wouldn’t that be more fun than some boring DJ playing the same music you heard at every other social? Let the crowd decide what it wants to hear.

Five Reason to Not Buy The New iPad

THERE are plenty of reasons to get yourself a tablet computer, but do you really need the new version that Apple recently unveiled? Unless you’re an early adopter of all things Apple, probably not. Sure, it has improved graphics, a quicker processor, a far better camera (do you even need a camera on a tablet?), a screen that seems to have impressed everyone and a few other tweaks, but is that worth the premium price?

If you’re new to the tablet game, you could grab yourself a new iPad2 and be totally happy with the experience — and save yourself a few bucks. If you aren’t an Apple fan, there are other devices that could suit your needs. Stay away from the BlackBerry PlayBook, though; despite its rock-bottom price, it has been a lemon since Day 1.

If you’re a real bargain hunter, try buying a used version of the original iPad. It will be extremely reasonable and do almost everything you need. You won’t be able to awkwardly take pictures with your device or watch movies in some ridiculously high resolution, but it will do everything you would expect from a multimedia-driven device that has only been on the market a few years.media-driven device that has only been on the market a few years.

Year in Review: December 29th - Uptown Magazine

Site of the Year: Dear Photograph 

dearphotograph.com — Dear Photograph pulls at the heart strings in just the right way. 
    
Runners up: Grantland.com, Longform.org 

Best Tumblr: Feminist Ryan Gosling

Feministryangosling.tumblr.com — With a cool Tumblr being created every few minutes it seems, this was a tough category to nail down, but Feminist Ryan Gosling was a big viral sensation in 2011.
    
Runner up: Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Best Meme: Tebowing 

tebowing.com — Tim Tebow has been the talk of the sports world lately, not just for his performance on the field for the Denver Broncos, but for always referencing God and openly praying in a way that has become known as Tebowing. Forget planking — it’s all about the big T. This crowdsourced site has examples of people Tebowing in some great locations, including all seven wonders of the world.
    
Runners up: Pepper Spraying Cop, Kim Jong-Il Dropping the Bass

Best Music Site: Soundcloud.com
    
Soundcloud has been described as a YouTube for music and, in many ways, that’s accurate. It has a very active community of users and, although it started out as a way for DJs and people in the industry to share music, it has become so much more. With streaming, embedding and downloading capabilities — and an effective mobile app that also allows listeners to record using their phone and instantly upload to the site — Soundcloud is on track to become one of the major players in the online music world.
    
Runner up: Last.fm 

Best Sports Site: Grantland.com
    
Backed by ESPN’s cash and stocked with  a crew of hip writers hand-picked by Bill Simmons, Grantland’s in-depth style may may not appeal to everyone, but it’s the No. 1 destination for discerning sports fans and pop culture junkies. The Fake Grantland Twitter feed is pretty awesome, too.
   
Runners up: Sportsfeat.org & Fiftymissioncap.ca

Most Useful Site: Lifehacker.com
    
If you’re a curious keener, do-it-yourself-er or someone like me who is constantly reading about how to get things done but never actually doing them, Lifehacker will be your new favourite site. From tech tips and DIY projects to personal improvement and a range of endlessly helpful lists, Lifehacker is a daily destination for all the right reasons.
    
Runner up: Howcast.com

Best Photo App: Instagram
    
You could say that camera apps such as Instagram are ruining photography (and that may be true), but you can’t deny the ubiquity of the photo-sharing community in 2011. 

Best Mobile Application: Flipboard
    
Cancel your magazine subscriptions and fire up Flipboard for your iOS device. This may be the first app that makes you think twice about spending all that cash every month on glossies — especially since you spend all your time reading stuff on your tablet or phone anyway.
    
Runner up: Instapaper

Most Improved Site: Netflix.ca
    
For $8 a month, it’s hard to complain about Netflix, but its selection definitely got better in 2011. New content providers and a wider selection means more customers — which will hopefully continue to translate into more even more partners coming on board the Canadian version. If you don’t think Netflix and streaming content is a big deal, try telling that to anyone with Blockbuster stock right now.

Biggest Tech Blunders: BlackBerry & Sony 
    
Between the mega flop that the BlackBerry Playbook has become, uninspiring phones and poorly timed network outages, Canada’s Research in Motion (RIM) had a tough year, followed closely by Sony. After a breach forced the company to shut down the Playstation network for an extended period, customers who use the PS3 as a way to purchase digital content were left wondering how long the service would be down and how safe their information was. Gamers were stuck in isolation or were firing up their Xbox to play online.
   
Runner-up: Netflix and its aborted Qwikster plan

Best Twitter Feed That Should Be a Reality Show: Paulina Gretzky

www.twitter.rs/PaulinaGretzky — Forget Shit My Dad Says, how has some TV producer not given Paulina Gretzky a reality show yet? Can you imagine how huge that would be? We already know she could provide some of the songs for the soundtrack. I suspect the Great One probably won’t allow it, but if I was a producer with CBC or MTV Canada, this would be my No. 1 priority in 2012.

Best Site Canadians Can’t Access: Turntable.fm
    
Social listening on sites such as Turntable.fm was a big trend in 2011, but you wouldn’t know it if you lived in Canada. Users north of the border are locked out of the collaborative, crowd-driven, Turntable.fm and have to use workarounds and pay-as-you-go-credit-cards to have access to some online streaming services such as Spotify.
    
Runner up: Spotify.com

Underachiever of the Year: Google+
    
With Facebook in a transition period and the fact that Google+ has some cool features, it’s too bad more users haven’t migrated to the latest social network in any serious way. Sure, people have signed up — but until a good chunk of their friends start to post and interact through the site, it’s going to remain a wasteland for tech geeks and early adopters. It’s currently the world’s biggest sausage party, but there is still hope it will turn around.