You know I like Amadeus Pro and here in this video I show you how to do some multi track editing and not mess up the synchronisation between the tracks. I use AmadeusPro to edit all of my audio podcasts and I will do a couple more tricks and tips videos about how to make good use of the software.
Allison Sheridan of the Nosilla cast certainly didn’t mince here words in the latest Nosillacast, in which she gave Leo Laporte a verbal lashing for his hypocrisy over the Snow Leopard. She played a couple of clips from the Leo Laporte Twit show in which he said totally contradicting things. In the first one he was talking about how the $29 upgrade for Snow Leopard was a great deal and despite there not being many in your face improvements, the under the hood improvements made it a no brainer good value deal to get Snow Leopard.
Leo Laporte
In the next clip he was heard lambasting Apple for the very same thing. I suppose he just changed his mind or he forgot what he said before. Maybe when you are making 1.5 million a year from podcasting maybe it affects the memory a little. When you look at him in the picture to the left, you would think that butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Not such a good guy after all, did you hear the one where he had a spat with a guest on his show and kicked him off with a few expletives thrown in for good measure. I saw the video of that one and he looked like he was in a bad mood to start with. Maybe he was having a bad tech day.
What do you think of Leo Laporte?
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (49.7MB)
In this episode I have the developer of the excellent Mercury mover and HighBrow applications Keith Alperin he is also working on an iPhone application too for the shoppers amongst us. I can’t stand shopping unless it is guerilla shopping. Know what I want, where to get it, how much it will cost. In the shop and out again with only the checkout slowing me down. Better still is I can order online. Keith is an extremely genuine chap and I had an absolute blast chatting with him. I asked him for a copy of Mercury Mover and a copy of HighBrow to give away on the show and he responded have 2 copies of each What a nice man
The question you have to answer to win the Mercury Mover application is in to podcast. The question is simplicity itself and the answer is easy peasy. All you have to do is download a copy of the software , there is a trial version available. The answer will be revealed to you. MercuryMover reduces the friction you feel when you use your Mac. With MercuryMover, you can move and resize windows on your Mac from the keyboard, positioning them precisely where you want. By shunning the slow and imprecise mouse, MercuryMover empowers you to work faster and play more.
The first person with the correct answer for the Mercury Mover application will get the software straight away. The second copy of the software will be available in a draw of all the other correct answers. Same process for the HighBrow also from Heliumfoot software. Two very useful pieces of software for you, the listeners of Mac 20 Questions to win.
Highbrow enables anyone to utilize each installed web browser more effectively on your Mac by eliminating the annoyances that arise from using multiple web browsers. With Highbrow, you can select any of three separate behaviors:
Keith on twitter: @kalperin
My favorite app: Launchbar
My favorite free app: Jumpcut
Some of my favorite podcasts: Mac developer Network
CoreInt
Mac Break Weekly
You can send in your answers using the form below.
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
I am really pleased to report that ScreenFlow 2 is coming out soon and even better than that I have got myself onthe beta testing program for ScreenFlow so I get to try it out before the release date.
So over the next while I will be making a pile of screencast to test out the new things in the software. There are transitions going to be available, and I am looking forward to trying those out for sure.
Here is a list of other new features
Here’s a brief summary of some new things you will be able to do in version 2.0:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (45.2MB)
Had a great chat with Giles, he is an IT professional and is fairly new to the Mac. I was able to pass on a tip to him during the interview regards using the trackpad on his MacBook. He is into content management systems with his work and will recommend Expression Engine as a good CMS. My knowledge of CMS’s stops at Joomla and I am quite happy to stay with WordPress for my content. I am tempted though to try out Expression Engine although I think I prefer the openness of the WordPress platform.
I am testing out Transmit the ftp application and it worked well enough for me today to upload the podcast to the server. I would like to look into what I could do with it in terms of the Automator that is built into the system.
What I want to do is to have a .mov file split into two tracks converted by an application that will do that job. Then those two .mov file to be converted to AIFF format for me. Possibly for them both to be opened up next to each other in AmadeusPro. Possibly have the resulting file saved as an AIFF that can then be sent to Levelator. It will be then ready for me to edit before I make it into a podcast.
It could be quite nice too, to have the podcast converted to an .mp3 and uploaded to the server ready to be distributed. I am not being lazy, honest – just looking to streamline my podcasting work flow.
You will enjoy the interview with Giles, an extremely nice guy who has a five month old son. He will have to work out how to protect his computers from sticky fingers soon enough. Good luck Giles.
Have you got your own Domain name yet? If not then go to Godaddy and get it there. As a gift from me you can have a 10% discount if you put in the code POD146 when you get to the check out. Yes they are sponsors of the show but I recommend Godaddy because that is where this podcast is hosted and where I buy all my domains.
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (47.8MB)
Mac20Q Podcast 58 Chatting to GazMaz from the UK about him and his Macs – There is no truth in the rumour that he is a fence for stolen iMac’s. It was just a terrible misunderstanding, “Honest officer.”. Get the full story in the podcast. Seriously though Gary had some bad luck there.
I asked him where he comes from and he replied “Cobblers” I said there’s no need to be rude. After that we went on to talk about kinky boots, as you do on such occasions.
What does a rugby referee tackle with his Mac? All the details in the scrum section of the podcast. The whole family are Mac users and seems that sometimes they have to fight over who gets to use the Mac Book or the Mac Mini. Gary also has a Mac Mini serving up his iTunes on a silver platter. Nice! he was telling me about his MyFi gadget which allows him to share a wifi signal coming in from a mobile network. Sweet gadget and I would really like one too.
Gary podcasts on For Mac Eyes Only with Mike Potter and does a stint now and the on IMP podcast. He even reviews applications for The Mac Reviewcast. I sent in another review of a podcast for that yesterday also.
It was through a recommendation from Gary that I got my hands on Hazel which is a super tool for keeping designated folders in order. If a file gets put in my downloads folder it is moved automatically to the pictures folder. You can set up a number of rules to take care of different types of files. Handy too that new files get a blue label to make them easier to find.
In the podcast I read an email from a listener in Scotland that had a terrible time with upgrading to Snow Leopard. Ended up being a hardware problem and she decided to get a new MacBookPro. Good excuse is what I say to get some new hardware.
The extra music for the podcast is by Louis Vig a track called ‘Can You Feel It’ You can find his work at louisvig.com
Mevio {Mevio-703625f392c2c11a077f3eeb7132fcb4}
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (49.0MB)
Film making Mac users were interviewed, Jamin and Kiowa Winans of Double Edge Films. They were great to talk to and impressed me greatly with their approach to the movie industry. The Movie INK was well received at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and now is being show around the country in the USA.
It’s been six months since premiering Ink at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and though we’ve been having a lot of successes, Ink has taken a path I never could have predicted. A lot of filmmakers have asked us about our strategy with the film and why we’ve made some of the decisions we have with the release of Ink. Here is a description of our experience and an explanation of why we’re doing what we’re doing.
To read more click on the picture to the left.
I am so looking forward to seeing the movie, it looks so exciting in the trailer. Not only are they from Colorado but they filmed INK there and used actors from the area too. Kiowa tells me that Colorado has so many different types of scenery just perfect for filming a movie, no problem in finding locations and even helps to keep the film in budget when you know the area and the people of the area.
Jamin has had a camera in his hands since he was 10 years old, making feature length films as a teenager learning how to cut and splice video tape, he must be so pleased to be using Final Cut Pro now.
So you can see that he has quite a background in making movies. INK most certainly is not his first movie and he has other movies in the pipeline for the future. The exact details as a bit hush hush but I bet it will be scifi in its outlook, he seems likes that genre
Kiowa has a huge involvement in the making of the film INk and has been responsible for the Producers job and worked the sound for the film. They have a small sound studio in the house where they sometimes whip out the senheiser mic and record what they need and also to combine with foley sounds to further enhance the movie.
Here is the trailer for the movie INK for you to enjoy.
The music for the outro of the podcast is by Louis Vig a track called Can You Feel It
As I was walking the dog this morning I was listening to the MacCast podcast from Adam Christenson. I have a soft spot for his podcast because it was the first podcast I started to listen to when I changed to the Mac 5 years ago. He has a good mix of tips, news, new music and reviews. The reason I mention it now is because there were some handy little tips regards Snow Leopard and the use of the option key to get more info or do things, depending what you are clicking on.
Adam mentions a couple of others including the airport icon and for me I would just say that the Maccast is one of the podcasts you just have to listen to. His web site is useful too and there is also a forum on there which can be very helpful if you need to get a question answered. Adam has been interviewed on Mac 20 Questions as I don’t mind talking to the superstars of the Mac podcasting world as well as the ordinary users like you and me.
What is your favourite podcast to listen to?
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (40.6MB)
I am talking to another Belgian this time, who goes by the name of Knightwise. He is a Mac fan boy, or not – as he said to me he has been accused of being one but he is probably more of a google slut that a Mac Fan Boy.
Whichever you think he is I am sure you will enjoy the interview because he is funny too.
Well yesterday I was at Podcamp Barcelona and I presented a session talking about how to get your podcast out in front of people, no point making them and not getting listened too.
Good to meet up with Chris and Ana who organised the Podcamp and they did a good job of it. This year it worked better by being set on one day rather than over 3 days as last year.
People were getting on the stage on time and the room was full. They had translation from English to Spanish seeing as some of the presenters were English, and that was a good thing for the audience.
I think the translator was able to understand my brummie accent and my use of colloquial language. I didn’t mean to make it difficult – honest !
My presentation was about how to promote your podcast using social networking. During the presentation I asked how many of the audience were podcasters and out of a room full of people only 5 people put up their hands.
My MacBook is very nearly a MacBook Pro with the changes that were made in the line up recently. All it really needs is an SD card slot and perhaps a firewire slot. The only regret I have about the computer is the lack of the backlighting for the keyboard. So often on the sofa with the MacBook and I have to resort to a usb light to let me see what I am doing.
What got me thinking about the MacBook was this morning I was using it just from the battery as the electric was turned off for the morning. I have to say that the battery life is just brilliant. With a previous HP laptop that was crappy in a number of ways, the worst of it was the poor battery life on it.
Another thing I a chuffed about with the MacBook is the trackpad with the integrated button. I never liked the extra buttons on other laptops and this one doesn’t get me thinking that I must have a mouse connected to be able to do serious work. That is mainly due to the gestures. I find that I can use AmadeusPro really easily with scrolling left and right and also the two fingers to be able to zoom in and out. I was using these features while I was editing the interview of an indie filmmaker for the Video20Q Podcast.
It was going so well that I even finished the whole podcast on the MacBook even though I could have waited to have more screenspace available on the iMac 24 inch. AmadeusPro is super for the multitrack editing. Shame more people don’t know about it. Mind you I may have put some of that to rights by doing a review of AmadeusPro which is on the latest episode of The MacReviewcast from Tim Verpoorten.
My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-fd5959d7f7c6bd9bea6f3deca25e83bd}
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (20.5MB)
.
In this podcast I talk to three mac users after Snow Leopard had been out for a week or so. Two of them had upgraded and the other was still waiting for the disks to arrive. Thanks to Mark Dalton, and Alexander to talking about their experiences actually installing Snowy and to Stefaan Lesage for a general chat prior to his pending upgrade. Looking forward to meeting up with Stefaan later this week at Podcamp Barcelona.
I will have a busy week this week with interviews lined up with Mac users and also some indie film makers and the Podcamp next Saturday. I put out a video podcast yesterday featuring my friend the artist Frank Corfield for Artist 20 Questions.
I waffle on about my new toy , a Drobo which is sitting on my desk now keeping my data safe. I have put in a couple of 1TB drives and have another pair of 500GB Drives to put in also.
Mark has just bought a Drobo also and had put in 4 of 1TB drives. So he will have plenty of room for his video stuff with Final Cut Pro.
Don’t forget to use the code POD146 when you get the checkout at GoDaddy so that you get a 10% discount
There are a lot of web sites which have the Apple Mac as the focus of their attention and the one I am telling you about today is very useful looking. It is called Switching to Mac. It has tutorials, reviews,news tips and also has a forum.
The tutorials show you how to find the serial number on your Mac, how to use templates in Pages, how to set alarms and timers, how to create PDF’s from any document on your Mac. In short there are a good few items useful for switchers to the Mac.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (32.2MB)
What was so great about talking with Karen was that she is into so many things, like myself she can’t stop herself being interested in a variety of interests. She has published a book called Painting for Photographers which is available now as an eBook and will be going into print very shortly. It is not her first book either, as karen has written a number of manuals for the Application Painter or PainterX. Karen also is an artist and amazingly like the same styles of art as myself too. Both of us really like the German expresionists, the surrealist and we both have an appreciation for the talent of Picasso.
You really must have a look at her paintings at her web site. She is conveying a dream world as art and with them being in black and white it reminds me of the work by Giger the artist that created the creature in the movie Alien. Karen is having an exhibition this month of her art work and if you live near enough you are invited to go and have a look.
Karen also writes screen plays for movies and has a script for a romantic comedy, where does she find the time to do all these things?
Gallery Godo
6749 San Fernando Rd.#C Glendale, CA 91201
Opening Night: September 25, 2009
7 pm to midnight - Please join us! http://gallerygodo.net/
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (30.0MB)
A calm banana who loves neon zebra patterns and goes by the name of Rachael Furn.
I enjoyed talking to her about how she uses her Mac. Rachael told me about an application called Smultron which she uses for web development. Smultron is a text editor written in Cocoa for Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 which is designed to be both easy to use and powerful. I may have to have a look at it myself even though I prefer to use WordPress to make my web sites, mind you having said that Rachael is rather fond of WordPress too. She has admitted publicly that she enjoys long conversations about the merits of WordPress.
Rachael giggled her way through the interview and you just can’t help but like her. she plays Alto Saxophone in Brackley Wind Ensemble. They do a kick arse Pirates of the Caribbean medley. Also trying to teach herself bass. She is into photography and likes to get down and dirty with creative stuff.
It is a funny thing when you are a Mac user and just expect people to love Mac OSX just as much as you do, in the way that there are only 2 kinds of people in the world – Those that use Macs and those that want to have a Mac. Then I was listening to Buzz out loud and they recently had a guy on there that was actually a Mac and Apple hater. all of the other guests put their cards on the table too, most not being Mac lovers and only one declaring himself as an objective thinker.
I do like to listen to Buzz out loud to get a different view or a more overall view of the computer and tech world though, I think it is good to balance things out if you can. In the same way that if you read a paper like the Daily Telegraph you should look at some news in a left biased news paper too.
It always seemed to me that most Windows users are that way inclined because they don’t know any better. All that is needed is to spend some time using a Mac and they would come away from the dark side. It is what they get shown in school, what they have to suffer in the work place. As I am doing right now, as does Allison Sheridan of the Nosillacast Podcast. It is no wonder that if by chance a Windows user gets the opportunity to use a Mac belonging to a friend or wanders into a Mac Store and tries on out, that there is a good chance that they will be swayed.
Having talked to many people that have switched from Windows to the Mac it comes across clearly that the WOW! factor that you get when using a Mac is something that others are missing. I can still remember in my first weeks as a Mac user going “Ooooh thats cool, I like that.” quite a few times and even now I still have the odd moment when I do something and my Mac behaves in a totally cool way, and I have that WOW! moment again.
Just thinking about it some more I do have a friend living nearby and he is a Mac hater, He will not use Mac products nor use Mac software on his computer, like iTunes or Safari. He is quite typical of the Windows geek though in that he is always fixing the computer. Computers on his table with the innards hanging out and perhaps waiting for some new part to arrive so he can use it again.
It is all part of the fun I suppose to be a part of the Mac community being a happy, productive Mac owner and user, and feeling sorry for the poor saps that have to use Windows. Have to remember though not to be smug about it though because that would piss me off too.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (32.1MB)
I got talking to some people that have differing views regarding what to do regarding Snow Leopard. Ranging from a developer that has been running it prior to Snow Leopard Day Friday 28th of August, to some that are holding back to let other mugs, I mean users try it out first and then jump in once the dust has settled and the patches have been posted to make everything run as it should.
During the day there have been reports on Twitter to say that some applications are not functioning properly on Snow Leopard and also people saying that there is a very noticeable speed increase. There is bound to be one or two issues to sort out but it looks like the developers are working pretty quick to make sure their apps will run on Snowy.
I ordered my family pack of the Operating system as soon as I saw that it was available on Monday but didn’t pay for extra quick postal. This was mainly because I am working until Monday and not likely to be able to get to install Snow Leopard by which time the box could be here and in my hands ready to play with. I did have the thought run through my head that I should go to the local re seller in Girona and get the packet but decided against it, it could have arrived here in the post by then.
I will be upgrading the MacBook in the simplest way and I will do a ‘Nuke and Pave’ with the iMac. there is a lot more work involved with the latter due to have to be extra careful with all of the data and all of my applications. I have got my hands on the application called AppFresh to see what I need to upgrade to the latest version. So that by itself will be a major task. I have to make sure all my email is safe and settings in various application that I use either daily or the now and then apps.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (30.0MB)
As you know I love using WordPress. I have all my blogs running on WordPress because it is the best blogging software out there. Not only that I have all my domains and hosting through GoDaddy, What is good about this is that to get the initial installation of the WordPress software done you can do it through GoDaddy hosting Connection. Here is a video showing you step by step how to set it up. Most of the work is done for you by GoDaddy and all you have to do is to put in a few names and passwords.
Use the code POD146 when you buy your domains and your hosting from Godaddy and you can have a 10% discount.
Many of blogs and podcasts are getting into the swing of things with the approaching of the Snow Leopard. There are reports / rumours that the cat will be with us before the end of August even, despite Apple saying that they would put it out in September. I always believe that it is much better to under promise and over deliver, and so bringing forward the release dat would do endless amounts of good for the whole of Apple business. We love the products anyway and to give us Snow Leopard out early on to of the icing which is the low price is surely the cherry on the top.
I will be getting my hands on Snowy as soon as it is available that’s for sure. On the iMac I will be doing the nuke and pave approach because I want a complete refresh with the new operating system. On the MacBook I will do an upgrade or update. The MacBook is much newer so will be spot on for the quicker and easier upgrade. I want to consolidate the applications I have on the iMac so that is another reason for going the nuke and pave route. I have not been having any problems with the running of the iMac but I think it is a good time to prune dome of the dead wood from the application folder.
Starting fresh will mean that I have to make a list of all the applications I have on the system now and note all of the serial numbers so that I can re install them. I will be doing back ups before I start all of this anyway. I have back ups anyway but I will be doubly sure to back up before going ahead. That will be after doing some maintenance in terms of running the permissions repairs on the hard disk too.
I get the impression from all of the reports so far that we can expect some bit of a speed bump from the software due to the software making the most of the extra cores on the processor and even using the processor on the graphics card. Of course it is still all rumour and hearsay but it is what makes the Apple World go around.
So what are your plans for your Macs’s?
I can’t see any reasons to not upgrade to Snowy unless you have a Power PC chip in your Mac. But maybe you have a good reason to not upgrade. Why not tell us about it.
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (29.9MB)
Elliot started Raindance in 1993 and our website, contains information and advice for new independent filmmakers. Raindance also holds ‘off-line’ training events. I have looked at the courses and would love to go do a couple of them. They are not expensive either.
He developed a new system of film training and on the 16th 07 09 received an Honorary Doctorate for his work from Britain’s Open University.
On 15 Feb 2005 the world of cinema changed forever – it was the day that the co-founder of Youtube registered the URL. With it, cinema distribution is changing dramatically, in parallel with advances in film making (ie: digital) making film making and distribution available to anyone.
As you know I have been working all hours all summer in a camp site by the beach. Have to in order to get some cash in to buy some more podcasting equipment. I am thinking of getting a couple of Shure SM58 microphones. They are dynamic mics and are not as sensitive as the condensor mics I have now. So they won’t pick up a lot of the background noises that the more sensitive studio mics can’t help but catch also.
I was also thinking about getting a Drobo for my back up needs. They are a bit expensive but would see me sorted out for back up for a long time. It is great the way you can just thrown in another drive if there is a bay free. Or just take one out and replace with a larger drive, all without the possibility of losing any data. In fact a drive can kick the bucket and still the data is safe. A drobo without drives in it costs 300 English pounds to buy, but if you take in the fact you can buy bare drives cheaper than if you buy an external drive, then the price is not so prohibitive. Of course there is no fancy Raid technology in a normal external drive which makes the Drobo more desirable and good value.
So where are the camp site blues, surely it is good to be earning more money. Well yes but I was expecting to finish next Sunday and be able to have a weeks vacation. I was getting quite excited at the thought of FREEDOM. Then the boss here puts the spanner in the works and asks me to work another week.
Don’t forget to get your domain names and hosting from GoDaddy. There is a 10% discount if you use the code POD146 when you get to the checkout. I bought 2 domain names myself yesterday and used the code. Nice to get a discount.
In fact what I did was to set up a domain name and put it on my Godaddy hosting and then use the tools to put on WordPress for Car20Q.com. Took about half an hour to have the basic setup done and ready. I was amazed how quick it was . I recorded the process and will put it out as a video soon.