Flickr - Orangescale.NET / Thomas Arie Setiawan

I'm a blogger and web designer from Jogjakarta, Indonesia. See my other blog in Bahasa Indonesia. I love photography. Currently, I live in Jakarta.

I'm @thomasarie on @alderina ampun deh.. Ga mudeng soal gituan.. Ngliat nomor2 brush saja dah pusing.. :P #replytelat § 8 mins ago

Flickr Photo Upload using Gravity? This is good!

I have Gravity installed on my Nokia 5800 XM mobile phone, and so far this is one of my favorite application. If you’re not familiar with Gravity, it’s a Twitter client for S60 platform. It also support Foursquare, Facebook and also Google Reader. Very nice! It’s not free, but it’s not expensive also — I bought it for less than US$10. You only need to purchase a license once.

Today, Jan Ole Suhr (Gravity developer) tweeted an update and he put a link to his Flickr photo page. Right now, I’m using Gravity version 1.30 build 6501. Gravity already support direct photo upload to some services like Twitpic, MobyPicture, Yfrog and also img.ly. But, seeing the screenshot above, it will support Flickr also. Yes, this is good since I use Flickr. Now, waiting for an update.

Yahoo Maps powered by Ovi Maps. And more!

Some of you probably have heard about this news: Nokia and Yahoo! have an agreement to work on they really’re really good at. According to the press release:

Today, Yahoo! and Nokia announced a worldwide strategic alliance to extend the reach of their industry leading online services and offer people rich experiences that keep them connected to their world and the world around them.

Building on more than five years of collaboration, Nokia and Yahoo! ® will leverage each others’ strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services, to provide consumers with access to world-class experiences on both PC and mobile devices.

You can also find the press release at Yahoo! Yodel Anecdotal. So, what does it mean for you? Probably… nothing. But, for me it means something. Let me tell you why.

I use Flickr — and I’m really enjoying it. Sometime, I take advantage of its geo-location feature. I can put my photos into map. You can do it manually, or automatically using geo-location meta data captured from your mobile device. I did it using my mobile device. Flickr photos with geo-location information will be integrated with Yahoo! Map. You can see my Flickr map page to see it in action. Is it good? Yes, but not that good. Why?

When I had my photos with location information, they’re not placed at the correct information. So, I have to edit their location in the map.
Yahoo! Map does not have much details about my hometown, Jogjakarta. Especially, when it comes to street names. For example, my photo taken in Malioboro Street, it’s detected as it was taken in other area, and it’s not even close.
I remembered that I have put my photos into correct location. But for some reasons — I don’t know why — the location was changed. I hope I’m wrong with this. The zoom effect or something, I don’t know.

With the new partnership I mention above, I hope I can see improvements. Ovi Maps has a great database of location, and it works really well. I know, sometime it has some mistakes on the street naming, but… still, it’s a great tool.

Ovi Maps (3.04) is available. How do I use Ovi Maps?

Few days ago, Nokia Ovi Maps v. 3.04 for mobile was released for public. If you’re following the news, Nokia released Ovi Maps with Free worldwide Walk & Drive navigation last January. And, I have my Ovi Maps on my Nokia 5800 XM upgraded. And I like it. Find more details about Ovi Maps.

Now, I want to share how I use Ovi Map daily use. Right now, I’m in Jakarta and I have been staying in this city for few months. It’s not my first time, but still, I’m not familiar with the streets and routes. I met Ovi Maps when I had my N78 few years ago and found it really useful. But, it was when I stayed in my hometown, Jogjakarta.

I love taking pictures with mobile device. When I found out that all photos captured using my N78 can have location information, I usually had the GPS information turned on. By this, I can find out where the photos were taken and — the important thing — was that I knew where I stood. How is it useful? A simple example: I went to Solo city and took a picture at the railway station. Then, I went to some places in Solo and took another picture. The result? I could find out what places I visited (with photos).

Okey, that was related to photo. In Jakarta, when I go to a place I usually save the location — based on the GPS data. This is useful since I can also find the navigation, or at least what direction/route I should take from one place to my destination. Usually, when I took bus or taxi — and I’m not familiar with the street route, the first thing I do is firing up my map. Until today, I never lost. :D

Anyway, I rarely notice about the 3D view. But, when I took my time to explore Jakarta in Ovi Maps, I found some buildings/landmarks available in 3D view map. For example: Monumen Nasional (see pictures below).

For more screenshots about some buildings/landmarks I found using Ovi Maps, you can go my Flickr photostream set.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I write this based on personal experience.

5,000+ Flickr Photos

This month, I saw that there are more than 5,000 photos in my Flickr photostream. In last October, there were 4,000 photos. So, in less than two months, there are more than 1,000 photos uploaded? Of course, not all of them are displayed for public. There are lots of private photos there. I think, the increasing number of photos happens after I purchased my Canon EOS 450D few months ago.

Here are some numbers related to my Flickr photostream — when I write this post:

5,403 photos in total: 3,872 public photos, 1,218 private photos, 18 friend-only photos, 262 family-only photos, 33 friend-and-family only photos.
In total, there are 5,400 photos and 3 videos. Right, Flickr also support videos.
About photo tagging, there are 2,914 photos with tags (2,489 untagged)
Sometime, I uploaded some photos with geotagging info. Also, I put some photos on the Flickr map. I have 849 photos geotagged.
I manage my photos in sets and 5,163 photos among total collections are in sets.
My photostream has 120 sets and 7 collections.
In December 2009, I uploaded 962 photos, but in September 2009 there was only one photos uploaded.
In total, I made 8 transactions (buying Flickr Pro credits). But, I only use two credits. The other credits were bought for my friends who want Flickr Pro upgrade (Flickr Gifts).

4,000+ Flickr Photos

4,000+ Flickr photos

Last year, there were 2,000 photos in my Flickr photostream. And few days ago, I just noticed that I’ve been uploading another 2,000+ photos. So far, I’m satisfied with Flickr service — at least, I never experienced bad service. I bought a new camera few months ago (Canon EOS 450D), and I took more photos using it. The “problem” was that I don’t have too much time to upload many selected photos. This month, I decided to stop my other internet connection — yes, I use two internet providers in the last few months. The reason was simple: it was because I had to cut my internet budget.

I had no problem with my internet connection backup. In fact, I’m really satisfied with the upload speed. The upload speed also helped me working with my videoblog. Right now, I think I consider upload an download speed as “okay”. It’s not super fast. It’s okay. So, I need to be more patient dealing with uploading activity now. I’m using Telkom Speedy now.

Back to Flickr, I just realize that I need to work on the photo “sets” and “collections” management. Right now, I don’t have any “collections” for all my 4,000+ photos. All photos are managed only in “sets”. I’m still finding the best way to manage them.

Flickr’s New Photos Notification

I don’t know when Flickr rolled out this changes, but I see now that notification email subject about new photos from my Flickr contact is more useful now. Previously, when my contacts uploaded photos to their Flickr photostream, I get notification with subject like this: [Flickr] New items from friends.

Now email subject is something like: [Flickr] New items from {his/her name}. This is more useful because I can see who just uploaded the photos. Information delivered in the email is similar with the previous one, anyway.

Flickr Email Upload and Send to Twitter

Today, I tried another Flickr feature. It’s similar to what they have right now — upload by email. The difference is that after the photo uploaded, it will send a notification to Twitter, send an update status. If you’re familiar with Flickr’s Upload by Email, it should not be difficult at all.

First, you have to link your Flickr and Twitter account. Add your Twitter account into your Flickr profile, and do the next authentication process. After that, you should see the integration status (see image below).

You will have a special email address. Any photos sent to that address will be uploaded to your Flickr and a status update will be broadcasted to your Twitter status. The email address is similar to your regular email you use to upload photos to Flickr (by email). For example, if your private email address is something21rate@photos.flickr.com, your other email will be: something21rate2twitter@photos.flickr.com.

I tried it, and it works without any problem. The photo address will be shorten. (see image below)

I’m not actively using this upload-by-email feature, but it’s something useful and glad Flickr has it.

ø June 28th, 2009, 3:50 am
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White House’s The Official Photostream

When I heard about White House Photostream page from Yan Arief Twitter status, I visited it right away. No waiting. I’m an Indonesian, and I love seeing the topic like this — related to my own country — but, it’s not easy to find. Do we have great pictures of our President, or Istana Negara? Anyone?

I like seeing what happen in the White House. Not from political perspective. I just like it. If I have to choose some, here are some photos I like.

ø April 30th, 2009, 3:17 pm
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Back to Flickr Pro and Crashed Flickr Uploadr

flickr-pro

I just renewed my expired Flickr Pro subscription. I know, Flickr already removed its set limits for free account. I think the most “annoying” about having a free account is not about set limit. It’s more about its 200 recent photos rule.

Oke, the renewal process was simple. Few clicks, and I can enjoy the Pro features again.

I tried to upgrade my Flickr Uploadr also. But, it was crashed few times when I uploaded my photos — no videos. Did I upload many photos at a time? I didn’t. I just uploaded 5-8 photos at once. I think I’ll use the old uploader. What about the video uploader feature? Right now, I don’t use it. I still don’t have a plan to upload videos to Flickr. May be later. Flickr is about photo. If I want to upload a video, I will use a video sharing provider like blip.tv.

Say Good Bye to Flickr Set Limit and Welcome HD Videos!

After being a free member at Flickr (again), I noticed that my photostream displays more than three sets. It seems that Flickr has lifted its set limit — for free account. Right now, I can see lots of photo sets. So, what’s the exact number? Flickr writes:

We’ve lifted that limit and you’re now free to organize your most recent 200 photos into as many sets as you like.

Thank you Flickr! In short, it means that — for example — if your last 200 photos are organized into 10 sets, you will have 10 visible sets.

Another news is about HD videos support Flickr Pro members. Here are some points to notice:

Pro members can upload as many HD videos as they want. I hope I read it right.
Free members can only upload 2 videos per month. They can upload HD videos, BUT it will not be displayed in HD quality. If they upgrade to Pro account, the HD version will be available.
Video limits still apply: less than 90 seconds and 150MB in size.
Check out the new Desktop Uploadr. We can upload photos and videos easier.

I think I want to renew my Pro account membership sooner. :)

When Your Flickr Pro Account Expired

flickr_exp_1

I decided to leave my Flickr Pro account expired for some moments. I know, it’s probably not a good decision. What does my Flickr look like right now? What happens to an expired account? At least, I know the answers. Here are few things I found:

flickr exp 2

Flickr free account limits apply now for my account.
There are only 200 last photos displayed. But, this number means all your last uploaded photos. For example, if you have 90 private photos — among those 200, unregistered visitors/contact will only see 90. Get the math?
Free account can only have 3 sets, right? But, when you were Pro users, and downgraded to free user, you still have more than 3 accounts. I have more than 80 sets (public and private). My Flickr photostream only displays 12 sets, and 17 sets when I logged in.
Flickr misses expired Flickr Pro accounts. :)

Okey, will upgrade my Flickr account later since I’m still enjoying videoblogging right now. :)

ø March 3rd, 2009, 7:33 pm
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Flickr Pro Renewal

In the next few days, Flickr Pro account I have with Lala will be expired (see our Flickr Photostream). I haven’t decided whether I renew it before or after the expiry date. I am curious about this. About this renewal, Flickr explains:

If your Pro account expires, don’t panic! None of your photos or videos have been deleted!
This means instead of enjoying the super-duper capacity of your Pro account, you’re now subject to the limits of a free account. If you upgrade again, all of your photos will be waiting for you.
Any of your sets that disappeared will magically reappear when you renew or upgrade.

Again, I’m curious about this. There are more than 3,000 photos and 80+ photo sets. Is it really safe to leave it expired to see the effect? I don’t know. The free account only has three sets, which sets will be visible? I’m curious. At the same time, I don’t want to take a risk. We’ll see…

Iron Flickr Man

I watched Iron Man. I think it’s a good movie. But, I will not talk about this movie, or make a review of it.

I’m interested in the story behind this movie related to… Flickr! If you see the image, just look closer to the two images inside. Looks similar, right?

The picture is from Jeremy Keith‘s Flickr album, and it was used in the movie! For me, the most interesting thing about this is about “how” his image can be used (in this movie).

Jeremy Keith has a detailed story about this. You should read the full story. Read about the communication between Jeremy and Ashley Kravitz.

Once I finally made it to Austin, I settled into a comfortable routine of geeking out, having fun and generally over-indulging. As I was making my way to the conference centre one morning, my mobile phone rang. It was Ashley.
“Sorry I didn’t manage to get the form to you”, I said. “My laptop died on me. I know it’s too late now.”
“Actually, there’s still time”, she responded.
“Look”, I said. “Let’s cut out the computers completely. Can you fax the form to my hotel? I can sign it and fax it back to you straight away.”
And that’s exactly what we did.

Interesting!

Here is my Flickr Feed in LOL format.