As if internet porn didn’t need any more help in pioneering technology, Aperio Technologies Inc. has utilized the multi-featured TIFF format to produce a one trillion pixel image (that’s a size of about 1,000,000 X 1,000,000 pixels!) of 225 copies of a slide that shows breast cancer. This 1 terapixel image is over 4GB, which used to be the ceiling limit of the TIFF format.

This advancement was accomplished by using Aperio’s powerful scanner technology:

Aperio’s ScanScope® slide scanning systems create digital images of entire microscope slides at gigapixel resolution in minutes. These digital slide images are very large, with dimensions that routinely exceed 100,000 x 100,000 pixels. The TIFF standard is perfect for storing digital slides - it is an open standard supported by a large number of applications on a wide variety of platforms. Until recently TIFF files were limited in size to 4GB, or about 30 gigapixels. With BigTIFF support it is now possible to store images of all sizes, including those larger than 4GB, in the TIFF format. The BigTIFF design was first proposed in 2004 by Joris Van Damme of Aware Systems, and has been refined in online discussions on the TIFF message boards.

The picture of the one trillion pixel breast can be found here.

[Via medgadget]

Designer Pei-Hua Huang has the right idea with his WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) concept phone. He envisages transparent screens that work as viewfinders, giving you a truer view of what it is you’re about to snap.

Of course the concept isn’t all fancy schmancy screen. It comes in an array of colors and patterns befitting of a fashionista picture hound. Who says you can’t geek out while looking good?

[Via Yanko Design]

Do you suck at taking pictures? Does your photography of normally decent looking people come out looking horrid? Well, you’re not alone. It’s a good thing that Irish company FotoNation has a new technology to cover your ass and fix your jank portraits.

FotoNation’s Face Tracker technology makes taking photos much easier with its ability to detect the location of faces and adjust the camera’s settings for the best possible picture. And if the subject is ulgy, then it throws the camera out of focus to protect your precious eyes. Okay, I lied about that last part. This technology automatically finds and focuses on faces regardless of where they are in the viewfinder, and then adjusts focus and exposure for results that may even make it look like you know what you’re doing.

So you think you need this? The upcoming Pentax Optio A30 is no slouch with 10 megapixels, anti-shake functions, and this face tracking feature. Also, Pentax has more to choose from with the Pentax Optio S7 and Optio A20 digital cameras, so you really have no excuse for your crap head shots anymore.

I only ordered a single book through the iPhoto store. I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the printing, especially for what I paid for it. I’ve been looking for a nice and easy solution and it seems that MyPublisher may be able to scratch my itch.

They’ve just announced that they’re releasing a new plugin for Apple users that will allow the use of iPhoto to design your photo book, and then you order it through them instead of Apple. They offer more designs and cheaper pricing (at least initially). To entice Mac users to switch over MyPublisher is offering %50 off any order over $100 and %25 off orders over $50. Visit MyPublisher for all the details and to download the plugin.

BookMaker 2.0 for Mac features the most options and creative control for taking digital photos and making a professional quality photo book. iPhoto users will find that BookMaker 2.0 offers significantly more cover designs, cover styles and colors, and book sizes in a free software program that downloads onto your computer’s hard drive in less than a minute.

BookMaker 2.0 allows users to quickly and easily build their books in a streamlined, systematic way. Photo book creators can drag and drop their digital photos into one of 120 custom layouts to create a high quality book that can be ordered in fine Italian linen, leather hardcover or soft cover paperback.