Fireworks, freedom and the red, white and blue

Times may be tough here in America, but it’s still important to remember that we live in the greatest country on earth.  We often take for granted the freedoms we have that others do not.

With the Fourth of July coming up this weekend, we are hoping to gather as many iPhone, iPad 2 and iPod touch users as we can to help spread the patriotic spirit across our great nation. Take photos, videos, listen to awesome music and be social! We also think this the perfect time to create great images of your favorite patriotic events and American landmarks. Instead of snapping static images, why not trying creating a panoramic image using the free UScapeit app? Scaping not only captures the experience but also makes the viewer feel like they are actually there too. So before the festivities start, grab take your iPhone, iPad 2 or iPod touch. You could scape the White House, the Statue of Liberty, Gettysburg, Bunker Hill or your town’s parade or fireworks display – anywhere that inspires or reminds you of what it means to be an American.

And don’t forget to share your Fourth of July-themed “scapes” with your friends and family on Facebook or via email.

To help spread the patriotic spirit, we’d love to see and share your Fourth of July scapes with our followers – so be sure to mention @UScapeit in your tweets, consider uploading your scapes to the UScapeit Facebook wall, or post the link to blog comments.

Happy Independence Day!

Take your iPhone out to the ball game

It is a GREAT time to be a Boston sports fan.  The Red Sox are red hot in first place, the Bruins are the Stanley Cup Champions and Patriots pre-season games are only two months away…we hope!

Whether you are a Boston sports fan, or from another neck of the woods, you know that physically being at your favorite team’s games is a much cooler experience than watching them on TV. You can’t get the sights, sounds and smells of being there in person from your living room couch – and you sure can’t catch that ball that flies into the stands.

If you’re looking for a way make your friends and family extra jealous that you’re at the game, and they are not,  why not ‘scape’ your next visit to the stadium or ballpark?

If you are an iPhone user, you can use a panoramic app like UScapeit. During the seventh inning stretch, put your peanuts down, stand up, extend your arm and take a short video by slowly panning around the venue. We’re not so sure if this will work so well if you are up in the bleachers, but check out how Jeff Cutler did his ‘Scape’ of Fenway Park.

You can then share the image on Facebook or email so everyone can be jealous that you’re there! Post your ‘scape’ to the UScapeit Facebook wall, tweet the link mentioning @UScapeit, or post the link to blog comments, and we’ll share it with our followers and fellow sports fanatics.

So before you head out the door to your next game, don’t forget your tickets or your iPhone with UScapeit installed.

Five ways to capture your Father’s Day memories

This is YOUR day, Dads!  We hope you have plans to get out and play some golf, go to a game, and be king of the remote control. Whatever you have in store for the weekend, we’d love to see where you end up!   If you are already an iPhone user (a.k.a. “Cool dad”), or maybe a lucky dad who receives an iPhone or iPad 2 as a Father’s Day gift, you should download our free app, UScapeit.

Once you have the app downloaded, all you have to do is take a quick video with your iPhone, iPad 2 or iPod touch (check out the demo), upload the video via the app, and we’ll send you back a 360-degree image from the video you shot.

If you’re wondering what to scape, here are some ideas:

• The 18^th hole
• The ballpark
• Your man cave
• Your favorite watering hole
• Your lawn (only if it puts your neighbors’ lawns to shame)

Don’t forget to share the image via Facebook or email, showing everyone how you spent Father’s Day.

We know Dads rock. You’re your son’s hero, and your daughter’s protector – until they turn 13 and then you are just SO embarrassing. But don’t worry, once they hit their twenties, you are back in their good graces.   So, we hope you enjoy YOUR day and capture the memories with Uscapeit!

Happy Father’s Day from EveryScape!

Scape The Parade!

Can you believe it?  THE BRUINS ARE THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!  It is an awesome feeling to know that in the last six years we’ve been fortunate enough to see each of our Boston teams win it all!  Of course, winning it all means a big celebration parade on the Duck Boats through the streets of Boston. Plans have been finalized to hold the Bruins’ victory parade this Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Are you planning on going to the parade?  Well, we want to know, and we want you to share the experience of being at the parade in person.  So we’re putting out a call to all iPhone users to “Scape the Parade.”

If you don’t know what that means, all you have to do is download our free iPhone app, UScapeit, then take a short video, panning around the area you’re watching the parade from (try to get that big Cup in the shot!), upload it via the app, and we’ll send you back a 360-degree panoramic image made from your video.

You can then share the image on Facebook or email so everyone (especially Vancouver) can be jealous that Boston has greatest sports teams ever!  Also, please post the “scapes” to the Uscapeit Facebook wall so we can check them out.  Or tweet the link to your scape and mention @UScapeit, and we’ll share it with our followers.

So before you head out the door on Saturday to watch our Stanley Cup Champions roll down the streets of Boston, remember to pack your iPhone with UScapeit installed.

We’re not in Kansas anymore

Last week, less than an hour and a half from EveryScape’s office in Newton, Mass., a category EF-3 (or higher) tornado touched down in the city of Springfield, Mass.  Seeing the images of the devastation is heartbreaking to say the least.  Hundreds of families lost everything.  It was a grim reminder of how Mother Nature can strike when (and where) we least expect her.

The Mass. tornadoes, the Joplin tornado disaster, the Mississippi River flooding, the Arizona wildfires, and NOAA’s prediction for an above-average active Atlantic hurricane season, got us thinking how important it is to be prepared in an emergency situation.  Most people know the basics to have on hand should a disaster strike: water, canned goods, flashlight, blankets, matches, etc.  But how many of us have insurance information on our home and belongings ready to go should they be needed?

EveryScape’s UScapeit iPhone app gives you a quick, easy and free way to document each room of your house or apartment using your iPhone’s video capability.  You simply need to stand in the center of each room with your iPhone, and slowly rotate 360-degrees while recording – then upload the video via the UScapeIt app and we’ll send you back a 360-degree panoramic image of the room.  Watch our demo video for more help.

Once you have “Scaped” the rooms in your home, you should make corresponding lists of the contents in each room, or you can upload the images to services like DocuHome which lets you tag furniture and other belongings in the photos (like tagging friends on Facebook) to keep an organized list of contents and values.  By having the images and lists digital, whether emailed to trusted family members, or backed up online, you don’t have to worry about photos and papers being destroyed.

Your home is the biggest purchase you’ll ever make in your life, and Mother Nature could take it away within seconds.   Even if you’re a renter, your home is full of belongings that your renter’s insurance may be able to replace.  It’s vital that you keep updated records and images of your home’s contents somewhere safe, should an unforeseen disaster occur.  Using UScapeit on your iPhone as an insurance tool, will give you and your family one less thing to worry about when it comes time to rebuild.

Don’t forget to pack your iPhone

Can you believe it’s already June?  Summer is just about here!  The school year is winding down, Father’s Day is fast approaching, summer vacations are being finalized and many of us have plans to be at the ballparks cheering on the “boys of summer”.

There probably aren’t many people who could go the entire summer without snapping hundreds of photos — there’s so much going on!  We wanted to make it possible for you to do more than just take plain old digital photos — we wanted to give you a way to really capture and share the experience of your first time at Fenway Park, or the college campus your daughter just received her degree from, or the beautiful white sand beach you’re sitting on watching your husband try surfing for the first time.

With EveryScape’s UScapeit iPhone app, available free from the app store, we can help you treasure those summer moments by taking a series of quick videos with your iPhone and turning the videos into groups of 360-degree panoramic photos — or “Scapes” as we like to call them — capturing the moment and the experience for you to share seamlessly on Facebook or by email.  We hope you take UScapeit along on all your summer adventures!