Santa Cruz — A family in Soquel has collaborated to develop an Apple iPhone application that determines how fast the wind is blowing.

The Wind Meter application the Dillers developed uses the microphone on the iPhone to convert the volume of the wind into an accurate measure of the wind speed.

“I thought if stronger wind makes a louder noise on a video camera mic, why not pick that same noise on the iPhone microphone and put it to good use?” said Jon Diller, who presented the idea to the rest of his family.

Diller was initially interested in developing a wind application because of his need to determine the wind speed for his kite surfing hobby.

“When you go kite surfing knowing the wind speed is important because it tells you how big of a sail you should use,” he said. “And there are so many sports where it’s important to know how hard the wind is blowing.”

read more at Mercury News

Easy digital access to NSSA Nationals photos

In an effort to bring 2009 NSSA Nationals competitors free, digital access to their shots from the contest, we present the SURFING x Facebook Online Darkroom. Here’s how it works:

1. NSSA Nationals competitors send a Facebook friend request to “SURFING AT NATIONALS“
2. Our most experienced photographers head down to Lowers to shoot the heats…your heats!
3. Following the day’s action, we upload and tag the best photos on the “SURFING At Nationals” Facebook page. If you’re not a friend, you can’t get tagged, so get online and add us ASAP.
4. You can download, post, print, and share your photos with the world for free. Send them to sponsors. Impress a girl. Make a poster for your wall of you ripping.

But remember, in order for it to work, you need to add “SURFING At Nationals” to your Facebook friend list now. After you’ve done that, wax up and hit the water. We’ll see you at Lowers!

see more info at surfing magazine’s site

fill in the fields and see a bigger image at surfingmags’s site

Pixelation… whether it’s a photo or the TV, it’s something we as humans so often complain about.  Well, we’re turning negatives into positives. Meet the Pixelate boardshort, our newest summer go-to boardie. The first 3 people to decipher the image above and name:

1. WHO IT IS
2. THE LOCATION OF THE PHOTO

will get hooked up with a fresh pixelated summer pack, including 2 Pixelate boardshorts, a backpack, watch, hat, and more.

surfingmags’s site