So the new Office 2008 will be rolled out on campus. There is a big difference between Office 2007 (Windows) and Office 2008 (Mac). The Mac users still have the menu at the top, it was not replaced by the Ribbon (which what happened to Windows users). If you would like to see a brief screencast on the Mac Office 2008 interface, click below:
Office 2008 Interface for Mac Users: A Brief Intro (screencast)
May 23, 2008
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Posted by Angel
Rapid Reference: Intro to Mac OS X
April 24, 2008
This Rapid Reference gives you an over view of the basic functions in Mac OS X. If you are switching to Mac OS X from an older version of the Mac OS or if you are switching from another OS and are a fist time Mac user, this is a great reference sheet to have. It discusses topics such as System Preferences, the Finder window, applications, ejecting media, and much more. Click on the link below to download the PDF:
Rapid Reference: Introduction to Mac OS X
-Angel Brady
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Posted by Angel
How to Use Miro to Collect Videos and Share with Others
August 30, 2007Miro (formally known as Democracy Player) is an Open Source video platform for Mac OS X. What does that mean? It means you can search for videos on popular sites site such as YouTube and save them in your personal library. You can also add channels to your Miro. There are different topics that channels are split into such as Technology or Movies to name a few. Some people have compared Miro to iTunes. Here is one way you can use Miro to share your videos with others. You can get Miro at this link: http://www.getmiro.com/
1. Click on Video Search in the top left column of Miro. You can also use the drop down (that looks similar to the search engine bar in Firefox) located at the bottom left of Miro.
2. Choose a video site you would like to search on for a video. Type in keywords of the video topic you are searching for (ex. YouTube: education).
3. Double click on the video’s icon to watch the video. To find out more details about the video, click on details button in the right hand side of the video text box.
4. Use the controllers at the bottom of Miro to play, stop, and pause the video.
5. If you like the video, you can keep it by clicking on KEEP. If you keep the video, it will put it in your Library.
6. To share this video with others, click on the SHARE button. You have the option of Emailing it to a friend, Post to Video Bomb (need to sign up for but its free-Video bomb is your own personal Miro channel to share w/ friends, staff, or students), Post on del.icio.us (social bookmarking), Post to digg, and Post to Reddit.
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Posted by Angel
Sizzle: DVD Authoring Tool for Mac OSX
September 1, 2006Few months ago, I worked on a project that involved digitizing video from a VHS tape and making a DVD with a menu. You may ask yourself “But she’s on Mac OS X, why doesn’t she just use iDVD to make the DVD?” Well I did try iDVD and I wanted to get all my files onto one 4.7 GB DVD. iDVD only allowed me to put 90 minutes on the DVD because of the way iDVD converts the files into mpeg2 for the DVD and for DVD players to read. I will take you through the process of taking your VHS and putting it on a DVD.
First I imported the VHS video into iMovie, which converted them into BIG DV files (digital video). From there, I joined together the DV clips that made up each episode (when importing footage into iMovie, the clip only hold about 9 minutes then spills over into a new clip, example- you have a 15 minute episode, iMovie makes the first 9minutes of your episode clip 01 and then automatically continues importing the rest of the video as clip 02, so that’s why you join the 2 clips and export as one file). I exported the files as mp4 files out of iMovie.
The files were rather large, 500mb, but the quality was decent. The setting I used to export the mp4 files from iMovie were as follows:
- Export Movie to Quicktime
- Click on Options
- Video Settings MPEG4 Video
- Quailty between medium and high
- Key Frames: Every 24 frames
- Data Rate: Restrict to 6400 kbits/sec
- Click ok
- Audio format: ACC
- Bitrate: 96kbps
- Click ok-Your clips start to export
Since I am more concerned with size than quality (I know, but you have to sacrifice) I brought each .mp4 file in VLC Player.
Open VLC Player. Click on File-> Open file–>Click Browse button, find your mp4 files and click choose.
Check the check box (in the open source box on your screen) that is labeled Advanced Output. Then Click on the Settings button to the right of the Advanced Output check box. I transcoded the video but not the audio.
For Output options I clicked Browse, then chose the file name and place of where the new file was to be created. For encapsulation method I chose Quicktime (from drop down). Transcode options: for video I chose mp4v from drop-down and bitrate 128. I left the video alone. Then I clicked ok. In the Open Source box I clicked ok. VLC starts to transcode your file. Like a good shampooing, I repeated this method with each chapter I had.
After I had all my reduced mp4 files, I opened up ffmpegX. I used ffmpegX to transcode my files into files that Sizzle could read to build the DVD menu and DVD from (in iDVD I could just drop the mp4 files into the program and iDVD changed them to mpeg2 files for me). Sizzle needs mpeg2 (MPG, MOV) files for video (it could import a VOB as well) and MPEG Layer-II (“MP2″), Linear PCM (“LPCM”), Digital Theater Sound (“DTS”) or Dolby Digital (“AC3″) for audio.
In ffmpegX, I imported my mp4 file. Then for the export settings I chose MPEG-TS, the video was mpeg2 [mpg](ffmpeg), and the audio was MP2. You end up with one file (Quicktime file) .MPG file to import into Sizzle. You can also use the DVD (ffmpeg) setting in ffmpegX as well to transcode the .MP4 file into 2 files, video file .MPG and audio file .AC3.
Once you have all your files (they increase in size because they are not as compressed as .MP4) you can open Sizzle. To add a clip (chapter) to Sizzle, click Add Title. You can then look at the bottom right window where your clip was imported into, click on your clip to highlight it, click audio above the window, and you’ll see your clip again listed in the audio (or this is where you can add your .AC3 file that is associated with your video file). To have the buttons link properly to your video clips in your TOC (DVD menu) select the button (say you named it Chapter 1) and click Edit Button. In the Edit box, choose “Jump to menu” in Action drop-down menu and then choose the clip in the Destination drop down. If this doesn’t give you the navigation you desire, play around with the Edit Button window until you get the settings and navigation you want. After you have the navigation linked up properly and you previewed the DVD image you can build the image (click on Save Disk Image in the top right of the Sizzle window). Once you build your image you can use a DVD burning program such as Toast to make your DVD (I used Sizzle 0.5b2, but I heard some people had problems with that and they used 0.1 version, I had no problem with Sizzle 0.5b2). I shrank the size of the DVD image by using a DVD shrink program. I did this to make sure it fitted onto a 4.7GB DVD. Enjoy!
~Angel Brady
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Posted by Angel
On buying a laptop.
June 27, 2005I often get asked how to buy a great laptop. After I say get an Apple, and the person tells me all the reasons why that won’t work, and I explain that it doesn’t matter, and they say, well, what’s a nice windows laptop, and then I sigh a little, and then we talk about what makes for a good laptop universally speaking, at least for the next ten days or so, when things get faster and cheaper.
Upon being asked about this topic in an email today, I decided to share my answer with this blog.
This kind of topic really requires an interactive discussion because there are so many variables. I would prefer to discuss the topic with you over the phone, if only to get a better feel for your needs.
However, here are some guidelines:
Get as much hard drive space, processor speed, and ram as you can afford.
Hard drive should have 80 Gigabytes or more.
Processor should be 1.5 Gigahertz or more. Much more.
You should have 1 Gigabyte of RAM, but less is okay. The more the better.
Your screen size will likely be determined by the amount of weight you’re willing to cart around. 3-5 pounds is a heavy laptop. 1-2 pounds is ultra light. Some laptops are as many as 7-9 pounds. You can get a 15 inch, rather than a 12 inch screen, but it will add extra weight to your laptop. 17 inch laptop screens are typically overkill for the average user, but are great for photo and video applications.
The discounted Dell specials at Rider’s academic discount page often limit your choices.
You want wireless, definitely. You will want something that is compatible with the 802.11b wireless standard, since that is what we use at Rider. Most wireless setups in new laptops will work with this standard, also known as ‘wi-fi’
You may need to purchase an external cdrom drive, since smaller laptops often do not have the extra space for a built in drive. If you get an external drive, you might as well go all the way and get a DVD+/-RW burner, since that will give you a lot more flexibility. If you go this route, you will want either USB2 or Firewire [aka ieee 1394 or iLink] on your laptop, and the drive should have USB2 or firewire [aka ieee1394 or iLink] as well.
My suggestion? Get a 12 inch iBook from Apple. You may spend a little more, but the investment is a good one, and it will have all of the features you want.
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Posted by lemasney
Apple to Use Intel Microprocessors Beginning in 2006
June 7, 2005All I can say is… wow.
Apple to Use Intel Microprocessors Beginning in 2006
WWDC 2005, SAN FRANCISCO—June 6, 2005—At its Worldwide Developer Conference today, Apple® announced plans to deliver models of its Macintosh® computers using Intel® microprocessors by this time next year, and to transition all of its Macs to using Intel microprocessors by the end of 2007. Apple previewed a version of its critically acclaimed operating system, Mac OS® X Tiger, running on an Intel-based Mac® to the over 3,800 developers attending CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote address. Apple also announced the availability of a Developer Transition Kit, consisting of an Intel-based Mac development system along with preview versions of Apple’s software, which will allow developers to prepare versions of their applications which will run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.
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Posted by lemasney
Technology-Enabled Teaching/eLearning Dialogue
May 4, 2005When you can envision technology as an immersive tool, you’ve got it.
Technology-Enabled Teaching/eLearning Dialogue
‘What if’ Pervasive Computing?
By Stephen Acker
In April of 2005, I attended the Apple Digital Leadership Institute hosted by the University of Missouri (http://edmarketing.apple.com/adcinstitute/).
Each of the 140 attendees who entered the large ballroom on the Columbia campus owned, or was given, a laptop that connected seamlessly to the wireless network that bathed the facility. Two very large monitors flanked the presenters%u2019 dais at the front of the ballroom and the audience was organized in round tables of eight. A group blog, a radical departure from the typical individual blog, gathered the impressions and streams-of-consciousness of those in attendance, and University of Missouri journalism students roved throughout the assembly gathering interviews for podcasting and vodcasting (video podcasting). We had come together to explore pervasive computing, and for at least two days we were living in that future–a universally trained learning community with universal access to the information milieu–an amalgam of live utterance, typed commentary, Google searches, and sharable digital libraries. It was fabulous–we were all always there, always on, and always connected. Yet our individual takeaways were gapped by our individual distribution of attention, for among the constantly clicking keystrokes, many an e-mail was answered and many an IM session was conducted.
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Posted by lemasney
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger : Page 1
May 2, 2005Theo Durst made me aware of this great in-depth technical review of Tiger, and I thought you all might like to see it.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger : Page 1
It’s tempting to say that Tiger marks childhood’s end for Mac OS X, but I think that goes too far. A more accurate analogy is that Mac OS X versions 10.0 through 10.3 represent “the fourth trimester” for Apple’s new baby%u2014a phrase used to describe the first three months of human life, during which the baby becomes accustomed to life outside the womb. As any new parent knows (yes, I am one of them), this is not an easy time of life, for the baby or for the parents.
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Posted by lemasney
Apple – Mac OS X – 200 New Features
April 28, 2005This is just a small excerpt of the 200 new features that will be available in MacOS 10.4, nicknamed Tiger, available as of Friday, 4/29/2005.
Apple – Mac OS X – 200 New Features:
“Burnable Folders
Burn a CD or data DVD directly from the Finder by quickly creating a “burn folder� where you can drag and drop the files you want to save.
Finder Slideshow
Quickly create full-screen slideshow of any selected images directly from the Finder.
Metadata Info & Preview
View a wealth of information about any file, including metadata from Spotlight.
Smart Folders
Take the results of a Spotlight search and save it as a Smart Folder that automatically updates as you add or remove documents from your Mac.
Spotlight Find
Search all of your documents, images, emails and applications and view the results literally as fast as you can type in search words.
Spotlight Results Group View
View search results as a traditional list, icon view or a completely new group view that clusters found items based on type.”
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Posted by lemasney
Technology News Article | Reuters.com: Best Buy to sell Mac Mini
April 6, 2005While Apple Stores and Target are doing their part to make Apple a household staple, Best Buy is the kind of place where most people go for electronic home digital items. Well done, Apple.
Technology News Article | Reuters.com:
“SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has started selling its Mac mini computer at retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) stores, the second large electronics retailer to carry the slim, $499 PC. the company said on Tuesday.”
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Posted by lemasney
