Peter Cook: Macs

View iMovie projects in high speed mode via the keyboard

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:06:01 GMT

I discovered this by accident, and it's not listed in iMovie's keyboard shortcuts. Just press the [ or ] key to move backwards or forwards quickly in iMovie. It will pause if you hit the key again.

A useful feature, seemingly otherwise impossible in iMovie, and one that is strangely not advertised. Hope you find it useful!

Link to Story | Source Home

Parallels Desktop for the Mac

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:05:18 GMT

The short version of this discussion about Parallels can be summed up in a single word: amazing. Nothing is perfect, of course, and there is room for improvement as Parallels moves this product beyond version 1.0. However, if you have an Intel-based Mac and need or want to run Microsoft Windows, some version of Linux, or some other supported operating system, read on. Todd Ogasawara reports.

Link to Story | Source Home

Quick insertion of Apple-centric glyphs

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:05:06 GMT

Jacob Rus has created a list of multi-stroke keybindings that allow for the quick insertion of Apple-centric glyphs like ⌥⇧⌘V or ⌥→ or ⌫ or, when all else fails, ⎋.

If you write documentation for applications or give advice on how to do things in Mail.app or any other Apple app or just prefer ⌥⇧⌘V to Option-Shift-Command-V, this collection of keybindings is for you.

Link to Story | Source Home

So Del.icio.us! Intelligent Tagging for the Mac User

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:05:01 GMT

It's time to learn about del.icio.us, a glorious, minimalist, tag-tastic bookmarks database. It was designed to be a "large-scale outboard memory," with added sharing smarts. It works like this: you take all your digital stuff and throw it into your del.icio.us account. Thanks to tagging and searching, you can find your stuff easily later. And you can find other people's stuff, too. Giles Turnbull shows you how.

Link to Story | Source Home

Make Keyword Assistant work with newer iPhoto versions

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:04:31 GMT

Keyword Assistant (KA) for iPhoto received a 9/10 MacOSXHints rating back in August 2004 as a Pick of the Week. It's been a great productivity enhancer, until iPhoto was updated past 6.0.2 -- Ken Ferry has not updated KA since then, and he designed it to limit KA's features when an iPhoto version beyond 6.0.2 was installed.

This was terrible for me, since I depended so much on KA -- I emailed Ken several times to no avail -- and then browsing VersionTracker's comments one day, I noticed this suggestion by editcandy:

Link to Story | Source Home

Full screen for free

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:03:42 GMT

I don't mind Apple selling a verion of Quicktime but when they shelve features like full screen, it gets to be annoying and petty. Macworld has a great tip to get around the problem. A simple Applescript opens up the feature, it not only plays the video in full screen but it also gives you all the cool controls. If you have never run an Applescript before, here is how you do it:

Link to Story | Source Home

Create time lapse movies in iMovie

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:03:26 GMT

iMovie 6.0.2 seems to have a new time lapse feature built-in, something I hadn't seen or heard of before. To find it, just click on the arrow next to the 'switch to camera mode' toggle, and select Time Lapse from the drop down menu.You have the option of setting how often a frame should be saved, and whether or not the date and time should be shown.

[robg adds:You won't see the feature if you don't have your camera plugged in, somewhat obviously -- it works during video import.]

Link to Story | Source Home

Flock Beta 1 Review

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 01:49:43 GMT

In an effort to give new web browser Flock a proper chance, I’m using it all day instead of Firefox/Flickr/WordPress/Del.icio.us.

Link to Story | Source Home

A good review of a new browser which integrates with various tagging and blogging tools. Looks pretty interesting. I'll probably check it's further along in development.

Peanut Gallery

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:41:10 GMT

Peanut Gallery is one of the more fascinating Mac applications to come out in a long while. The application allows you and 7 others to watch a video (local quicktime file, DVD or even a file on .Mac) over Bonjour (local internet) or online, and share the experience as it allows you to add notes and even animate yourself by choosing some of the template graphic characters. So you finished a job for a client, you can watch it together with them. They add comments, suggestions, you make revisions and do it all over again! Very cool. Priced at a reasonable $24.95. Tiger & Quicktime 7 is required and a decently fast computer. A lot more features, so check out the site.

Link to Story | Source Home

News: Google releases free Mac SketchUp

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 03:31:14 GMT

Google has released a free Mac version of SketchUp, the 3D visualization tool it acquired when it bought @Last Software last March.

Link to Story | Source Home

Guide to multi-cam editing inside FCP

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 03:31:07 GMT

Steve Martin over at kenstone.net has put together an in-depth guide that tackles the process of multi-camera editing in Apple's Final Cut Pro. The guide covers the basics of syncing up your cameras with the help of a time code generator or clapboard. Also covered is the process of capturing and setting up your footage for easy editing inside FCP. The guide covers a number of other common issues that come along with multi-cam editing and is a must read for anyone new to the process.

[Via HDforIndies]

Link to Story | Source Home

Use a Linksys router to extend an AirPort network

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 03:30:54 GMT

I had an old Linksys WRT54GS router that I wasn't using, and because of the way my house is set up, I needed to put my AirPort Extreme Base Station somewhat far from my home office. This was a problem for two reasons: first, I had a relatively weak signal in my office, and second, because I have a network attached storage system and an Ethernet-based printer in my office that I'd wanted to keep there. I knew that the AirPort Express would accommodate this setup, but since I already had the Linksys -- which doesn't have an audio out or a USB port, like the Express, but which does have four ethernet ports -- I thought it was worth trying.

Link to Story | Source Home

RapidoWrite: Accelerate your typing

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 01:15:30 GMT

RapidoWrite is a snippet manager like TextExpander.

[snip]

Its great advantage over TextExpander is its cost—it’s free.

However, unlike TextExpander it only does text. Support for images is planned for a future release, the developer says, but for the moment TextExpander has the edge.

RapidoWrite is freeware and is available from the developer’s web site
[Via Hawk Wings]

A useful collection of tips for those learning Unix

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 01:15:18 GMT

Our moderator hayne has put together a Unix FAQ, which addresses many questions that newcomers will have, covering topics such as common commands, permissions, shell login scripts, and more. There's even stuff there that may be of interest to those with some Unix knowledge, including some information on scripting the shell directly and via AppleScript. There's also a collection of links to places where you can learn more about Unix.
[Via macosxhints]

Survey: iPods more popular than beer

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:26:29 GMT

In a rare instance, Apple Computer's iconic iPod music player surpassed beer drinking as the most "in" thing among undergraduate college students, the Associated Press reports. The results are from a new biannual market research study by Studen...
[Via AppleInsider]

Is Google the new .Mac?

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:26:19 GMT

Nick Starr points out that while many people know Google is the new Microsoft Office, few stop to think how Google is also the new .Mac.

[Via Hawk Wings]

Save all Mail attachments via easy drag and drop

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:10:23 GMT

But did you know that dragging the little paper clip icon, as seen at right, to the Desktop (or any other place) results in all attachments being saved to that location? I did not until today!
[Via macosxhints]

Free up drive space without losing content

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:10:12 GMT

Hard drive space is still a premium on laptops, and media files can eat a lot of that space. Here's a little trick to minimize the space taken up by applications that are not used frequently. It's a simple idea -- put the individual applications on individual compressed disk images using Disk Utility. Then create a folder for the disk image, and put an alias (pointing to the application on the image) in the folder with it. Store this folder in your Applications folder.
[Via macosxhints]

Feature: The weekend Web site

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:10:09 GMT

You've dreamed of having your own Web site--a place where you can share your photos, movies, and life events with far-flung friends and family. But who has the time to learn how all the pieces fit together? Now, thanks to iWeb, setting up your own Web page--including blogs, podcasts, photo slide shows, and embedded movies--has never been simpler.

[Via MacCentral]

Tidy up your HTML with ... tidy!

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 04:14:22 GMT

I was messing around in the /usr/bin folder and found a binary called tidy, which is installed by default on OS X. Immediately curious, I looked up the function of this program. Its purpose is to generate cleaned-up versions of HTML, XML, and XHTML files, and it can even convert them. This is useful if you code web pages by hand, as I do. It fixes your mistakes, like the following, and many more:
[Via macosxhints]

iPod + Nike Shoes = NikePlus.com

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 03:58:44 GMT

Apple and Nike teamed up to offer a sensor for Nike’s Air Zoom Moire shoes that connects wireless to an iPod nano (presumably not a Shuffle or standard iPod). The NikePlus.com website says that the products will be available on July 13.

The Air Zoom Moire lists for $100. And, the Nike+iPod Sport Kit lists for $29. Nike’s site has an area that appears to let kit owners upload their run data, track their progress, and compare it with up to 50 people in a challenges section. I might start running again just to try this out with my nano :-)

[Via Meerkat: An Open Wire Service: MacDevCenter.com]

Pretty cool technology. Watch the flash intro.

AppleScript for Beginners - Getting Started & Script Editor

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 03:58:24 GMT

Congratulations on your decision to finally learn AppleScript! I know how you feel; you have been enjoying your Mac for some time now, and have heard the wonderful tales of adventure associated with developing scripts that will finally make your system your servant. I am happy to report that the stories you have heard are true. Although AppleScript is easy to learn, and considered a high level language, it is remarkably versatile at reducing or eliminating repetitive tasks, organizing files and projects the way YOU want, or moving data automatically from one application to another. Plus, it is fun! So welcome aboard and prepare to enjoy yourself as you learn.

Apple, a Success at Stores, Bets Big on Fifth Avenue

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 03:57:59 GMT

Since it opened its first two stores five years ago today, the Apple chain has become a retailing phenomenon.
[Via New York Times: Technology]

10.4: Adjust word break behavior back to 10.3 default

Fri, 19 May 2006 03:20:50 GMT

Problem: With the advent of Mac OS X 10.4, the default "text double-click selection" behavior was changed so that when double-clicking a key in an AppleScript record, not only the key would be selected, but in certain cases, also its value along with it.
[Via macosxhints]

An odd fix for AirTunes intermittent dropouts

Fri, 19 May 2006 03:20:27 GMT

I have been experiencing intermittent dropouts when broadcasting iTunes music from my G5 iMac to my amplifier using AirPort Express.
[Via macosxhints]