ScreenCastsOnline HD

156 - Leech Download Manager [540p]

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:00:42 +0100

[Full Free Show] A new ScreenCastsOnline video tutorial has been published and is available via the ScreenCastsOnline iTunes feeds.

Both the Extra! Members versions plus the free version (in a lower resolution) are now available.

Peter Maurer is a name familiar to many Mac users, as the original creator of Textpander (re-launched as TextExpander by Smile on my Mac) as well as many other excellent Mac utilities we've touched on in previous episodes of ScreenCastsOnline (ServiceScrubber and Displaperture to name but a few!)

Peter has now turned his considerable talents to develop a brand new lightweight download manager - Leech

Leech was designed to be small yet powerful, with all the features you need to efficiently and quickly download files using full integration with the top OS X browsers - Safari, Camino, OmniWeb and FireFox (using the Flashgot plugin for FireFox).

With a simple yet elegant user interface, Leech was built from the ground up to be a great example of an OS X application.

In this weeks show, I take you through:

Leech Features
Installation and Configuration
Using Leech to download files
Creating and Using Leech Rules
Using Leech History
Camino and FireFox Integration

In addition, I also include details of a special ScreenCastsOnline discount code to get a 20% discount off the usual price of Leech, kindly supplied by Many Tricks, the sponsors of this weeks episode. There is an additional discount available for users of other download managers who might want to purchase Leech. Just send proof of purchase of the other download manager to info@manytricks.com for futher information on obtaining the additional discount.

155 - MobileMe Preparation & Evernote Update [540p]

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:15:57 +0100

[Trailer for Full Show]Following on from several requests, this weeks show is all about preparing for MobileMe, the new .Mac replacement service due to be launched in early June 2008.

The show covers the basics of MobileMe and gives you some useful tips on how you can prepare for MobileMe if you're an existing .Mac user, or even if you're considering signing up for .Mac in advance of MobileMe. Topics cover:

Introduction
Not a .Mac User?
.Mac Services Being Withdrawn
Preparing for MobileMe
Preparing for MobileMe Mail
Preparing for MobileMe Calendar
Preparing for MobileMe Contacts
Preparing for MobileMe Web Gallery
Preparing for MobileMe iDisk
Other MobileMe Considerations
Signing up for .Mac

Also included in this weeks show is an update to the Evernote service, recently feature on ScreenCastsOnline (SCO0151 and 152). FResh out of closed beta, Evernote has now launched its premium services and some new changes to the services it provides.

154 - Fluid [540p]

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:00:47 +0100

As we start to spend more and more time using Web based applications (or WebApps), the standard web browser is becoming more and more critical. The problem is that with the advent of tabbed browsing, individual WebApps become harder to manage and locate on your desktop. Add in the fact that a single bad website can sometimes crash your browser or make it unstable, you can end up losing all of your browser sessions in one fell swoop!

Fluid comes to the rescue!

Fluid is a Leopard only application that allows you to simply and easily create "Site Specific Browsers" or SSBs. A "Site Specific Browser" is a completely separate desktop application just for one single WebApp. In effect, it turns the WebApp into a manageble service with a dedicated desktop client that's configured just for that WebApp. Each SSB you create will have its own Menu Bar, Dock Icon and runs completely independently from other SSBs or browser sessions. So now you can launch SSBs at login, switch to them using CMD TAB, basically treat it as a desktop application.

In addition to these features, Fluid also gives you the ability to convert your SSBs into MenuExtra SSBs which reside in your menbar and are accessible at the click of a mouse. If you'd like your SSB permanently displayed as your OS X Desktop, it even supports Embedded SSBs to allow you to do just that!

Along with window customisation, an extendible plugin architecture, support for GreaseKit based Userscripting and most importantly, supported by 1Password, Fluid is a simply must have application.

In this weeks show I cover:

Installation
Creating Simple SSBs (Examples: Gmail and Google Docs)
Window Customisation
Creating MenuExtra SSBs (Example: Using Hahlo for Twitter access)
Installing Userscripts
Creating Embedded SSBs (Example: Using Google Calendars as your OSX Desktop)
Fluid Plugins
Finding Fluid Icons via flickr
Updating Fluid Icons to High Res versions

Fluid is completely free and available to download from www.fluidapp.com

153 - aTV Flash for Apple TV [540p]

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:43:54 +0100

[Trailer for Full Show]Time for a show with a hardware bent! Lots of buzz around the internet about a product that enables you to "hack" your Apple TV simply and easily. All without opening the case and potentially voiding your warranty.

The product is aTV Flash v3.0 from Applecore LLC.

The steps are this:

Buy the aTV Flash software and download to your Mac.
Download a free disk image file from Apple.
Insert a Flash USB drive on your Mac and run a script
Restore your Apple TV to factory settings
Insert the Flash USB drive into the Apple TVs USB port and reboot

And that's it!

This weeks show takes you through all these stages in detail and even shows you how to setup and transfer media to your Apple TV via FTP plus how to use some of the Applications installed as part of the aTV flash upgrade.

Please note that this show has not been sponsored or endorsed by Applecore LLC.

152 - Evernote for Mac - Part 2 [540p]

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:00:05 +0100

Following on from last weeks Extra! members only show, this week completes the tutorial on using Evernote - the cross platform and web based information management tool.

This week I finish off by looking at some additional features of Evernote including:

Drag and Drop Support
Using iSight Notes to catalogue and search your business cards
Evernote Client Views
Creating And Organising Tags
Using Attributes
Creating Saved Searches
Accessing the Evernote Web Client
Using Emails to Send Data to Evernote

I also include a really handy tip on using your iPhone to capture images and have them appear in Evernote as searchable items - very, very handy!

151 - Evernote for Mac - Part 1 [HD]

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:11:25 +0100

[Trailer for Full Show] I think I may have found the answer to my perpetual quest for an efficient and effective way to keep all the bits of information I accumulate everyday. You know the problem - lots of bits of texts, web pages, ideas, thoughts, images, reminders, notes, etc,. So much "stuff" but nowhere sensible to store them so that I have access from any computer or any device.

And then as for thinking up ways to organise and label things so that you can find it again - nightmare!

This weeks show is all about Evernote - a personal information manager which seems to address all the requirements I have for my information store. There's so much to cover, I've had to split this show into two parts, the second part will be released next week.

Evernote is many things!

Firstly, at its core is a web based service that allows you to access your information via any industry standard web browser.

Secondly, Evernote has local client applications for both the Mac and Windows that allow you to capture and store information locally and syncronise with the Evernote Web service.

Thirdly, Evernote has mobile clients, plus an iPhone optimised web interface, so you can access all your information on the move.

Not only that, but Evernote includes some amazing character recognition technology so that any photos or digital images with text (even handwritten text) that you capture in Evernote, become searchable!! You really have to see it to appreciate it and of course this weeks show will show you!

Next weeks show will look at some additional features of Evernote including some pretty handy tips on using Evernote with your iPhone.

150 - TextExpander [HD]

Fri, 23 May 2008 15:20:52 +0100

[Full Free Show] An invaluable utility this week, one that I seriously could not function without!

It's TextExpander from Smile On My Mac.

On first glance, it looks like a very simple utility to help you save time. It allows you to create small textual abbreviations that, when typed, will expand into words, sentences, paragraphs or even images. It can even trigger AppleScripts, just by typing a few characters or even a single character!

What's really special is that it's a system wide utility so you're not restricted to just your email or word processor, TextExpander works with all the applications on your Mac.

Speed up your typing, use it to auto-correct commonly misspelt words, respond to emails in a flash, generate tons of CSS or HTML code, TextExpander really does give your productivity a boost.

In this weeks show I cover:

Some common uses of TextExpander
Creating your own Snippets
Using Date and Time Variables
Positioning the cursor in Snippets
Using text selections to create Snippets
TextExpander Groups including
Adding from a File and URL
Predefined Snippet Groups
AppleScript Support

The free version of this weeks show is sponsored by Smile On My Mac and they have kindly offered a 20% discount to ScreenCastsOnline viewers up to July 31st 2008. To purchase TextExpander using this discount, just visit the special ScreenCastsOnline landing page at http://www.smileonmymac.com/sco

149 - GarageBand '08 [HD]

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:19:32 +0100

[Trailer for Extra! Members Show] Time for some creativity & fun. GarageBand '08 is the latest version of the amazing music creation software included in the iLife '08 suite - free with all new Macs.

Can't play an instrument? Never had the time to learn? Well don't be disheartened as GarageBand '08 is suitable for all levels of musicians, from complete novices to accomplished players. What's even better is that you don't need an instrument or even any musical skills to create polished music tracks.

This weeks' show focuses on the music creation side of GarageBand '08. If you want to checkout how to create and enhanced podcast, have a look at SCO0042. The show covers:

Software Instrument Tracks
Using The OnScreen keyboard
Using your Mac keyboard
Interfacing Midi Keyboards
Real Instrument Tracks
Connecting Musical Instruments via USB & Firewire
Recording in GarageBand
All About Apple Loops
Creating Songs using Apple Loops
Master Track Automation
Special Effects Automation
Magic GarageBand
Exporting Tracks

And to create entire songs in one of nine different genres, I also looks at Magic GarageBand, a great new mode that does all the heavy lifting for you, enabling you to create a multitrack song completely from scratch, automatically.

148 - OmniGraffle 5 [HD]

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:18:40 +0100

Time for an update on an application I last looked at over 12 months ago. Acknowledged as the premier diagramming, charting and visualisation tool for OSX, OmniGraffle has recently been relaunched with a mojor upgrade - OmniGraffle 5.

Available in both Standard and Pro versions, OmniGraffle is the tool that Mac users rely on to produce diagrams, process charts, UI mock ups and much more. Recognised as a perfect Visio replacement for switchers coming across to the Mac, OmniGraffle is a delight to use (see this recent blog post - "OmniGraffle makes it easy to leave Visio behind") combining simplicity with ease of use to deliver outstanding results.

This weeks show revisits some of the functionality I examined in the last show but focuses more on the new features in OmniGraffle 5 including:

User Interface Update
New Toolbar
Configuring Drawing Tools
Mini Inspector
Style Tray

Tools Basics inlcluding:
New Bezier Line Tool
Diagram Tool

New Layout Engine
New Stencil Palette
Graffletopia Integration

New OmniGraffle Pro features including:
Subgraphs
Presentation Mode
Visio Compatability

This weeks free show is sponsored by the Omni Group.

147 - JumpCut, DejaMenu & SoundSource [HD]

Fri, 02 May 2008 10:07:05 +0100

[Trailer for Extra! Members Show] Something different this week, not one but three really useful utilities. What's even better is that they are all free!

JumpCut - A great clipboard buffering application which takes a minimilistic approach to give you access to your recent clipboard entries. Go back in time and select from a list of recent clips from either your menu bar or via a hot key and bezel.

DejaMenu - Large or multiscreen setup? Fed up of having to travel all the way to the top of the screen to access your applications menu? Or even worse, having to traverse monitors to get access? DejaMenu allows you configure every applications menu to pop up right where your cursor is, saving you effort and time. You can even assign your menus to popup with a click of your mouse!

SoundSource - Constantly juggling different audio outputs and inputs on your Mac? SoundSource gives you access to all your audio devices quickly and easily through a single icon n your menu bar as well as a volume control for each device.

In addition, the members version of this weeks show has a special section just for members which explains the renewal process and what to do to prevent your membership expiring, and what to do if it does!

146 - Automator [HD]

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:16:17 +0100

[Free Show] We revisit one of OSXs most misunderstood features this week and that's the latest version of Automator in Leopard.

Automator is a way of creating special applications or plugins that allow you to "automate" repetitive tasks. Each workflow is built up from a number of predefined actions that are bundled in with most of Apples own applications and an increasing number of third party applications. Initially introduced in Tiger, Automator has received a significant make over in Leopard with the introduction of some brand new features, mainly the ability to record tasks using the new "Watch Me Do" feature along with the introduction of user and system generated variables to use in your workflows.

So if the thought of AppleScript sends shivers down your spine, check out some the new features of Automator.

The show covers:

Automator Basics
The revised Interface
Creating a Sample Workflow to resize images
Creating a Sample Workflow with Text and Speech
Saving Workflows as Applications
Saving Workflows as Plugins
Creating a Sample Workflow with "Watch Me Do"
Creating and Scheduling an iCal Plugin

In the Extra! members version of the show this week, there is an Extra! section only available to ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members:
Variables in Automator
Creating a Sample Workflow including Variables

145 - Preview [HD]

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:25:38 +0100

[Trailer for Extra! Show] Preview is one of OS X Leopards hidden gems. Hidden so much so, that most people are only aware of a fraction of its somewhat surprising range of features and capabilities! Preview received a complete makeover with the release of Leopard, providing you with lots of additional power and flexibility. The great thing is, it's free and it's on all Macs so you never have to falter to make that image correction when your favourite shareware or freeware application isn't installed on someone else's Mac.

In this show, I'll take you through all the basic features of Preview including:

Image Capture
Viewing Single and Multiple Images with Preview
Slideshow Views
Managing Images within Preview
Color Correction
Image Annotation
Image Conversion and Resizing
Opening and Re-arranging PDFs
Annotation and Mark Up of PDFs
Searching
Bookmarks

See, I told you there was a lot to Preview!

144 - VectorDesigner [HD]

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:53:14 +0100

Simple. Intuitive. Powerful. That's the strap line for this weeks application which is VectorDesigner by TweakerSoft. Causing quite a buzz earlier this year by winning a "Best of Show" 2008 and also being featured as one of the premium applications in the last MacHeist promotion, VectorDesigner is a fully featured vector drawing application.

Unlike raster or bitmapped based drawing applications such as PixelMator or Photoshop, VectorDesigner uses vector based graphics allowing you to create drawings that are infinitely scalable without any degradation or loss of quality. VectorDesigner has some pretty amazing features including:

Fully editable Smart Shapes
Bezier creation and editing
Flowing text along a path
Flowing text inside a shape
Boolean operators
Layers
Image filters powered by Core Image and Quartz Composer
iSight Integration
Flickr Integration
Scanner Integration
iLife photo browser

In addition, VectorDesigner also allows you to import or scan raster based images and convert them into scalable, editable vector graphics.

This weeks show touches on all these features (OK, except for iSight integration, I don't think you're quite ready for my ugly mug in a screencast yet!) and even takes you through creating a vector image design from scratch. Of special interest is the Flickr integration that allows you to browse Flickr via a VectorDesigner Flickr browser and search for images and photos based on subject, colour or your own criteria. Once you've found an approriate image, just drag the image directly into your own VectorDesigner document as a new image or to add texture to an existing object.

This week is a free show and is sponsored by TweakerSoft.

143 - Time Capsule [HD]

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:04:18 +0100

[Trailer for Extra! Show] Time Machine must be one of the most useful features of Leopard and should be mandatory for all Macs users. The fact is many people don't backup their critical or precious personal data and leave it until it's too late. Time Machine takes away the pain of undertaking and organising your backups but it does need additional investment in hardware. A simple firewire disk is adequate for most people, but what if you have several Macs? What if you'd like to buy a new disk but you want that wireless router as well?

The answer is to take a look at Time Capsule, the latest backup device from Apple designed specifically for Leopard users and Time Machine. But in fairness, to call it just a backup device does it a disservice. It's a multi-function machine with many roles:

Backup Device - 500GB or 1TB of storage built right in. Enough to service a single mac or multiple macs. Centralise all your Time Machine backups.
Wireless Device - Includes a full blown 802.11n wireless hub allowing you to create a wireless network or join an existing wireless network. You can backup your devices wirelessly and automatically.
GigaBit Network Switch - Includes three wired Gigabit ethernet ports so you can connect wired devices to your network.
Expandable - Add additional USB drives to expand your storage - never run out of space for your backups!
Print Server - Connect a printer and access your printer across the network from both wired and wireless devices.

The real beauty of Time Capsule is just how easy it is to setup and use and that's where this weeks show comes in. In the show I cover:

Time Capsule Overview
Typical Networking Scenario
Installing & Configuring Time Capsule
Adding Additional Storage to Time Capsule
Access Time Capsule with Time Machine

As well as Time Capsule, Apple have also introduced the ability to add additional USB storage devices to existing Airport Extreme devices. It's not as straight forward as Time Capsule but if youe have an existing Airport Extreme, it's an extremely cost effective way of centralising your Time Machine backups. Consequently the show also covers:

Adding Drives to Airport Extreme
Configuring AirPort Extreme Disks
Accessing Airport Extreme Disks via Time Machine.

142 - Pages 08 [HD]

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:56:51 +0000

[Free Show] Finishing off the trio of shows all about iWork '08, this weeks show brings you up to date with the newly revised Pages'08, Apples flexible, yet powerful, word processor and page layout application.

Addressing the major complaints about Pages'06, mainly that it wasn't a "proper" word processor, Apple have completely revised Pages '08 to include a brand new "word processor" mode, in addition to its original page layout mode. To make it even easier to use, Apple have also introduced the context sensitive format bar in line with the other iWork applications to allow for less reliance on the inspector panels and give you control of the common elements right within the application window itself.

Following on from the previous show I did on Pages '06 (nearly two years ago!), this show will bring you up to speed on lots of the new functions and capabilities of this outstanding package!

This weeks show is a free show, but there is an extended show available for ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members with an additional 10 minutes of content and chapter marks. Extra! members will receive the extended show automatically as usual.

The show covers:

Introduction to Pages '08
Using the Format Bar
Paragraph, Character & List Styles
Page & Section Breaks
Tracking Changes in Documents

The Extra! members extended show also covers:

Working with Images in Pages
Instant Alpha
Wrapping Text around images
Masking Images and Picture Frames
Text Flow in Page Layout Mode
Exporting

141 - ScheduleOnce [HD]

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:38:15 +0000

[Trailer for Extra! Show] We've all been there! You need to organise a meeting between a group of people and end up with an avalanche of emails from people who can make this day but not that. Or change their availability three times in a week. As for trying to arrange something across time zones with daylight savings time thrown into the mix - absolute nightmare.

Well recently I've been in just that position trying to schedule recording sessions for the Mac Roundtable! 10 very busy podcasters across 4 different time zones all trying to synchronise our activities and come up with a shared free slot to record.

In this age of Web 2.0, I thought there must be a service somewhere that could come to our rescue and sort out this complex organisational task.

So a quick bit of research and I found it!

After using it for a day or so I was so impressed I thought I'd spread the word to help out ScreenCastsOnline viewers who are also tasked with sorting out meeting schedules. So I abandoned my plan for this week and did a show all about ScheduleOnce, especially as its completely free to use.

As a web based service its totally cross platform, you don't need to register and did I mention it's free. You don't even need to know what time zones all the participants are in.

It's simply a matter of setting up a meeting notice (which takes 2 minutes) and emailing a special link to your invited participants. They respond using the link, and the system gives you a view of all the responses and allows you to select the optimum time and email them with the confirmed date and time, all formatted in their local timezone.

This weeks show takes you through setting up a meeting, let's you see what the invitees receive and show you the responses and how you process them!

I hope this makes your life easier as it did mine!

140-2 ScreenSteps Live [HD]

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:26:07 +0000

[Free Show] Part 2 of the ScreenSteps extended episode. This part covers the ScreenSteps Live web based service.

140 - ScreenSteps [HD]

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:07:49 +0000

[Free Show] ScreenSteps is a great application from Blue Mango Learning Systems that makes creating, annotating and publishing instructions or task based documentation a breeze. Now although ScreenCasts are a brilliant way to get across complex information, sometimes there's no substitute for step by step instruction manuals with clear screenshots and good, consise instructions. The problem with creating "printed" documentation is that it can be difficult to assemble and can go out of date very easily requiring Herculean effort to update. And as for trying to keep on top of changes to videos - forget it!

Screensteps is cross platform application for both the Mac and Windows, which allows you to create libraries of "lessons", each lesson being a step by step process covering whatever tasks you want to document. Available in both a free version and a pay for version, the application has comprehensive tools built right in for screen capture and image annotation to easily and quickly build up step based documentation. Once you've created your lessons, ScreenSteps also has some powerful export functions that allow you export your lessons in either customised PDF or HTML format (in the pay for version) or even directly to a hosted ScreenSteps Live web service (included in the free version as well as the paid for version).

As well as exporting individual lessons, ScreenSteps allows you to organise your lessons into topics and sections, allowing you to create individual PDF files or HTML output containing an entire Library of lessons complete with a table of contents and easy navigation. The PDF version collates all your lessons into a multi page PDF whilst the HTML output provides all the code you need to upload to your website for online documentation.

If you're not sure about uploading HTML files to your website (or if you don't have a website) be sure to check out Part 2 of this ScreenSteps show where I'll be taking a look at ScreenSteps Live, a free service to host your ScreenSteps lessons. ScreenSteps Free and ScreenSteps Live are tightly integrated and it's really easy to export your lessons directly and automatically to ScreenSteps Live from within ScreenSteps.

As well as the free options, there are Standard and Pro versions of ScreenSteps which allow you to export locally to PDF and HTML so once you've tried the package, you can upgrade to get the full features. There's a ScreenCastsOnline discount code available for both the Standard and Pro versions of ScreenSteps giving you a massive 25% discount off the normal online price. The discount code is:

SCO25

and is valid up until the 1st May 2008 - NB, ScreenCastsOnline will also get some commission for every copy sold via this special promotion!

139 - Apple TV Take 2 [HD]

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:01:15 +0000

[Trailer for Extra Show] One of my favourite devices revisited this week - the Apple TV. Now revitalised with a brand new software update, this is the Apple TV Take 2.

As announced at this years Macworld, Apple have released a brand new software update for the Apple TV that turns it into an amazing entertainment hub for the Living Room. For the first time, the Apple TV no longer needs a Mac or PC and can function as a network connected media center. This weeks full Extra Members show takes you through some of the new features of this ground breaking device including:

Installing the Apple TV Software Update
The Revised Interface for Movies, TV Shows and Music
Podcasts On Demand
Viewing Photos via .Mac Web Galleries
Viewing Photos via Flickr
Adding Flickr Contacts
iTunes Automatic Sync
iTunes Custom Sync
AirTunes in the Apple TV

138 - HoudahSpot & Geo [HD]

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:49:24 +0000

[Free Show] Not one but two top applications featured in this weeks show!

This weeks episode is sponsored by Houdah Software and I cover both HoudahSpot and HoudahGeo.

HoudahSpot is no stranger to regular ScreenCastsOnline viewers as we covered it back in March 2007. Since then, HoudahSpot has been completely re-written to take advantage of some of the new technologies in OS X Leopard. HoudahSpot is really what Spotlight should have been and even with the improvements to Spotlight in Leopard, HoudaSpot enables you to take search on the Mac to the next level. It doesn't replace the underlying Spotlight engine, it justs gives you a much more flexible yet powerful "front end" to your Spotlight data. Add in Templates, the new BlitzSearch Menubar icon, integration with Launchbar and much more, HoudahSpot is a great addition to your Mac.

HoudahGeo is one of those applications you need to see to fully understand its capabilities! That's why we have ScreenCastsOnline! It's an application that allows you to easily "geotag" your photos with location data without needing access to a specialised GPS device or expensive GPS enable camera. HoudaGeo lets you simply add in location data visually using either a simple Map option or using its built in integration with Google Earth. But if you have got a GPS tracker, it can use that as well! But as well as allowing you to "Geotag" your photos, HoudahGeo allows you to share you photos with its built in uploading integration with Google Earth and Flickr. Once Geotagged, just a click of a button and your photos will be uploaded and placed in the correct position on global maps with Google Earth or Flickr - it's really that easy! Once you've exported to Google Earth, the show will demonstrate how you can create a virtual slideshow in Google Earth, flying from loction to location and displaying your photos at each location! Not only that, but you can email the slideshow to friends or family and they can watch it in Google Earth on their own computer (without needing a copy of HoudahGeo) - how cool is that!

As mentioned in the show, there's a special discount on both HoudahSpot and HoudaGeo for ScreenCastsOnline viewers and is 20% off the usual retail price for all versions and licences (except for the already discounted student versions). This 20% discount is good until the 31st March 2008. Just use the coupon code SCO0138 when ordering your copy of either HoudaSpot or HoudahGeo. Please note that that is SC (the letter O) then zero 138.

137 - Bento #2 [HD]

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:25:45 +0000

[Sampler for Extra Show] As promised, this week concludes the two part show all about Bento, the personal database from Filemaker. As mentioned in the previous show, Bento is a very powerful application that harnesses the power of database creation and sophisticated data manipulation in a very stylish and easy to use package - the epitome of a mac application!

As well as allowing you to create your own databases (or libraries in Bento terminology) from scratch or via imported data, Bento also gives you direct access to your Address book data, along with your iCal tasks and events to design your own forms to view and manipulate your data. Eye candy is plentiful with the use of pre designed themes and the ability to create your own special views of your data via easily customisable forms. Even if you don't feel the need to dabble with a database, Bento allows you to access, view and amend your Address Book and iCal data with a great new interface, straight out of the box.

In the show I take you through some of the more advanced aspects of using Bento to manage your personal data including:

iCal Event and Task Integration
How you might use iCal integration
Additional Bento Fields
Printing Tables and Forms
Creating Mailing Labels
How to import Data into Bento
Backing up Your Data

Hopefully parts 1 and 2 of this tutorial will have you well on the way to managing your data more effectively and give you a fresh outlook on address book and iCal.

136 - 10.5.2 and Spaces [HD]

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:28:06 +0000

[Free Abridged Show] Busy, busy week! Apple finally released Leopard 10.5.2 and in a flash, put right a lot of the issues and complaints people were having with the User Interface. So this week I take a look at some of the changes in the new update and the best way to install it.

Also, I've been holding off doing a show on Spaces, the virtual desktop management system in Leopard, as I must admit, I did find it a little buggy! Hopefully 10.5.2 has fixed that so the second part of the show is all about Spaces. In this section I cover:

Spaces Concepts
Setting Up Spaces
Moving Between Spaces
Visualising Spaces

This weeks extra section included in the ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members version of the show also includes:

Moving Apps & Objects Between Spaces
Organising Spaces by Task

Some major changes to the show format this week in that I've introduced a brand new theme and and transition clips. The new theme was commissioned from Geoff Smith, podcast theme maker extraordinaire! To celebrate, I spent some time putting together a new opening sequence, a new chapter marker and a new ending. All in motion graphics.

I hope you like them!

135 - Bento #1 [HD]

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:37:06 +0000

[Sampler for Extra Show] By popular demand, this weeks show is all about Bento by FileMaker. Bento is a very flexible and elegant database package that many people consider to be the application that was missing from iWork.

It's a very powerful application that harnesses the power of database creation and sophisticated data manipulation in a very stylish and easy to use package - the epitome of a mac application!

This weeks show takes you through the basics of Bento and even if you've no database experience, should give you enough information to start creating your own databases with ease. The show is an Extra members show and covers:

◦ Introduction to Bento
◦ The Bento Interface
◦ Core Concepts - Libraries and Collections
◦ Address Book Integration
◦ Records & Table View
◦ Form Views
◦ Creating a Library
◦ Adding Fields
◦ Form Customisation
◦ Themes
◦ Advanced Find
◦ Smart Collections

More than enough to get you started! This is the first of a two part show on Bento and we'll look at some of the more advanced features in part two.

134 - PDFPen [HD]

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:03:52 +0000

[Full Free Show] It's been a while since I first found PDFPen, a great utility for editing PDFs. With the introduction of Version 3, however, the application now has some amazing features allowing you to edit the embedded images and text in the PDF itself!

Add in the ability to create and insert text, images, signatures and scribbles into a PDF and even create your own libraries of often used material, no longer do you have to spend hundreds of dollars on Adobe Acrobat!

This show is sponsored by Smile On My Mac, the publishers of PDFPen and covers:

◦ Introduction to PDFPen
◦ Manipulating PDF pages
◦ Working with Text
◦ Editing original PDF text
◦ Working with Columns
◦ Copying Text
◦ Searching for Text, Notes and Comments
◦ Working with Images
◦ Editing original PDF images
◦ Adding your own Images
◦ Filling in PDF Forms
◦ Adding Your Signature
◦ Making Transparent Images
◦ Applescript Support

On top of all that, this weeks show also contains a special ScreenCastsOnline discount code to save 20% off the usual price of PDFPen - The code is SCOPDFPEN

133 - Mac Setup #2 [HD]

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:26:34 +0000

[Trailer] Thought I'd break myself back in gently by putting together Part 2 of the mini series - Setting up your Mac.

In this weeks show, I make a couple of slight alterations from Part 1 as suggested by pman and wastern from the ScreenCastsOnline Forum, then it's straight into a section on configuring your new shiny aluminium keyboard to get the most out of it.

Then onto a list of some of the top freeware and donationware applications to install on your brand new Mac (or existing Mac if needs be!)

A few suggestions on commercial software I can't live without, topped off with an announcement on the new ScreenCastsOnline 2007 DVD now available (members only - sorry!).

Finished off with news of a groovy prize draw for all those people who buy a DVD before the end of February.

You know what, I didn't break myself in gently at all!

132 - RWMultitool [HD]

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:08:30 +0000

[Trailer] It's been a good few months since I did a Rapidweaver related show so I thought I'd do one on a tool I get a lot of requests about.

We all know that Rapidweaver is one of the simplest, yet most powerful web creation tools available for the Mac but one of its strengths is also one of its weaknesses. It's a template based package and uses themes to give your Web site its look and feel. Now unless the theme developer gives you lots and lots of options, your creativity might be a bit stifled by sticking to a particular theme...."If only I could just insert my logo just there in that header!"

Well with RWMultiTool, the underlying graphics of virtually every theme are made available to you to alter or even replace if you want to!

Insert your own images or overlay extra graphics on your Rapidweaver theme headers or anywhere else in your theme really easily and quickly. No coding is required, just drag your images on to the existing theme elements, one click and your new graphic is instantly part of the theme. You can even see the changes instantly to your Web site in Rapidweavers Preview mode.

The best part is that RWMultiTool is available in both free and Pro versions and the show will give you a brief comparison between both versions.

RWMultiTool Site

131 - Mac Setup #1 [HD]

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:43:14 +0000

[Full Free Show] For the first show of the new year, I thought I'd offer a helping hand to all those new Mac owners fortunate enough to get a new Mac for Christmas. The theme of this show was suggested by a viewer and I enlisted the help of the guys and gals over at the ScreenCastsOnline forum to assemble a list of best practices and essential software for the new Mac user.

The resultant list is just too much for a single show so I'll make it into an occasional mini series of shows for the new Mac user.

This first show looks at several different aspects of setting up a brand new mac from the view point of a new Mac user. I look at:

Basic Dock Customisation
Converting to a Standard Account
Using Parental Controls
Switching on the FireWall
Setting a Screensaver Password
Pointers to Using Time Machine

In addition to these common tasks, I also recommend six free software packages to get you up and running as quickly as possible (inlcuding running through the different installation routines for all of them) The software icludes:

Firefox - Web Browser (although I do recommend at least trying Safari for a short while)
TextWrangler - A Fully Featured Text Editor
Paintbrush - A simple bitmap graphics tool based on MS Paint
Perian - Some essential video codecs to allow you play many different types of video
Flip4Mac - Windows Media Playback
The Unarchiver - Free unarchive utility for many formats

These are just the start and we'll look at many more useful utilities and applications in the following episodes.

130 - Airport Express [Not HD]

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:20:05 +0000

[Trailer] Last show of the year so I thought I'd go out with something special!

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon a software package called Remote Buddy which allows you to use your Apple Remote to do all sorts of clever things with your Intel Mac. Included in the package is a very clever piece of software which is basically a fully featured Ajax web server that allows you full control over iTunes from a browser.

Add in an Airport Express to allow you to transmit your music from your Mac to a remote set of powered speakers or a HiFi over Wifi and you have an incredible system for creating multi room audio throughout the house.

But it gets even better when you add in an iPhone or iPod Touch which allows you to access the Remote Buddy Ajax Web server and control your audio system via WiFi. Not just control the playback, but control the volume, search your iTunes library, select your Airport Express and even view the album art of the currently selected track on your iPhone.

This weeks full show covers all these elements in 20 minute including:

Installing and Configuring the Airport Express
Configuring iTunes
Installing and Configuring Remote Buddy
Using the Remote Buddy Ajax Web Server
Controlling iTunes via your iPhone/iPod Touch

129 - 1Password Update [Not HD]

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:23:55 +0000

[Free Show] Time for a product update this week. It's been over 12 months since I covered 1Passwd, the brilliant password manager and web form filler from Agile Web Solutions.

This is one of the must have applications for the Mac and makes managing and using passwords and web identities a breeze. Since the last screencast ( SCO0078 ) , the product has been re-launched as 1Password and has had a significant re-write with lots of new features and is now even better!

In addition to the new features built in to 1Password, the guys have come up with a unique feature to enable to securely copy all your 1Password information in encrypted form to your iPhone or iPod touch. So now you can have all your data with you on the go!

This weeks show covers:

1Password Basics
Using 1Password for Authentication
New 1Password GUI
New 1Password Identities
New 1Password Wallet Items
Sync to iPhone and iPod Touch

For a limited time, you can get 17% off the usual price of 1Password by accessing this special ScreenCastsOnline offer page at the 1Password store - 17% Discount for ScreenCastsOnline viewers - This offer has been extended up to 31st January 2008.

128 -iCal #2 [Not HD]

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:57:30 +0000

[Trailer] Another Members show this week and it's part 2 of the iCal tutorial. In this weeks episode, I look at some of the more advanced capabilities of iCal that make it such a powerful planning and sharing tool. In addition, I also take a look at some third party tools that enable you to extend the capabilities of iCal and also integrate and syncronise with Google Calendar.

The show covers:

Time Zone Support
Sharing Calendars incl.
Exporting
Publishing
Subscribing
Syncronising Calendars incl.
.Mac Sync
iPhone Sync
Third Party Integration
BusySync
Spanning Sync

Don't forget that the members version of the show has embedded chapters so you can go straight to the section that you want or easily skip sections.

127 - DiscLabel 5 [Not HD]

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:09:31 +0000

[Free Show] Featuring an excellent CD/DVD labelling utility this week, and that's DiscLabel 5 from SmileOnMyMac. As well as CD and DVDs, DiscLabel 5 also allows you to create stunning covers and inserts for all types of cases and boxes.

As well as a whole library of templates and clip art, DiscLabel is fully integrated with iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD and other digital content packages to provide both artwork and automated track listings easily and quickly.

This weeks show is sponsored by SmileOnMyMac and they've kindly provided a special ScreenCastsOnline discount code for 20% off the usual price of both the standard package plus the family pack. Check out the screencast for full details.

126 - iCal #2 [Not HD]

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:00:37 +0000

[Trailer] - I've been holding off doing a show on iCal for a while now, but I'm glad I did. Leopard and the iPhone has brought a new lease of life to iCal, the calendar application included with Mac OS X.

Under the hood, there's a ton of cool and really useful features that now make iCal a credible and reliable tool to help you plan, organise and share your busy schedule. There's so much stuff to cram in, I've had to split the show into two parts!

In this first part, I cover:

iCal User Interface Basics
Creating and Managing Calendars
Calendar Groups
Creating and Editing Events
Setting up Mail for iCal invitations
Using Invitations to Setup Meetings
Mail Integration
Using Data Detectors
Setting up To Dos

Part 2 will be along shortly looking at some of the more advanced features of iCal.

125 - OmniWeb Browser [Not HD]

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:23:38 +0000

[Free Show] This week's sponsored show features OmniWeb, the feature packed web browser from the Omni Group.

OmniWeb is unusual in that it's one of the few browsers that you have to buy, it's not free! Consequently, it has to be something special to compete against exceptionally strong competition, but you'll be glad to know that it delivers a brilliant browsing experience.

The shows covers all of the advanced features of OmniWeb including:

Using Tabs & Thumbnails
OmniWeb Workspaces
Web & Search Shortcuts
Bookmarks
Site Preferences
RSS Support

A 30 day trial of OmniWeb can be downloaded from the Omni Group Web site

124 - Desktop & Stacks [Not HD]

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:34:37 +0000

[Trailer] - This weeks' show is the last Leopard related screencast for a couple of weeks, and it's all about a couple of the most controversial aspects of Leopard, and that's the Leopard Desktop and Stacks.

These two areas seem to have been the most contentious, what with the missing rounded corners, the translucent menu bar and the perception of the 3D dock as being just eye candy! Not to mention the dubious visual metaphor of Stacks using the foremost icon in the dock - very confusing!

Well in this weeks' show, we'll examine all these features and look at some resolutions using some free third party applications. So this weeks show covers:
◦ New Menu Bar
◦ Recreating Rounded Corners
◦ Turning off the Translucency
◦ Configuring New Screensavers
◦ Customising the 3D Dock
◦ Stacks Overview
◦ Fixing Stacks Visuals
◦ Creating a Recent Items Stack

123 - Time Machine [Not HD]

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:40:10 +0000

[Free Show] The first full show on one of Leopards most unique features - Time Machine!

We all know what Leopard is supposed to do but in this show I take you from the basics of using Time Machine with the Finder, through iPhoto integration and even take a peek at Time Machine support in OSX Leopard Server. This weeks show is a free show, but I've included a special Extra! members only section at the end of the full show covering some of the more advanced features.

This week's show covers:
◦ Time Machine Basics
◦ Using The Finder in Time Machine
◦ Spotlight Integration with Time Machine
◦ iPhoto Integration with Time Machine

The Extra! members section also includes:
◦ Using Storage on Other Macs for Time Machine
◦ Setting up Personal File Sharing on Leopard
◦ Sneak Peak at Screen Sharing
◦ Sneak Peak at Using Leopard Server for Time Machine

Look out for more Leopard related screencasts in the coming months.

122 - Leopard Install [Not HD]

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:11:50 +0000

[Trailer] This weeks show is a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member show so this is a trailer on the free feed all about this weeks show! Yes, it's finally here - this week is the Leopard install show! If you've been hanging on and haven't installed Leopard yet, now you can learn all about the final preparation, a cool way to create a backup of your Leopard DVD plus the different options and customisations available when you install the big cat!

This week's show covers:

Considerations Before Install
Creating a bootable image of your Leopard Install DVD (optional)
Using iPartition to dynamically resize partitions (optional)
Final preparations
Removing APE to prevent installation hangups
Leopard Installation - Upgrade
Leopard Installation - Archive and Install
Leopard Installation - Erase and Install
Using Migration Assistant

120 - Leopard - Install Preparation & Time Machine [Trailer]

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:48:13 +0100

At last! The launch date has been announced, the DVD printers are churning out copies of Leopard and all we have to do now is pre-order and wait for the big day!

Well we could sit and wait, but there's lots of things we can be doing in the meantime to ensure that our Macs are fit and ready to receive Leopard. More importantly, there's things we can do in advance to make sure that the installation or upgrade goes smoothly and that we are in a position to recover if things don't go as well as planned.

Yes, this week's show is all about preparing for the Leopard install and what sensible steps you need to do in advance.

One of the major things is ensuring that you have a good bootable backup of your Mac BEFORE you even think about upgrading. In this episode, I take you through some of the options for getting an external hard disk that can dual as both a bootable backup of your current system and also be configured to act as your Time Machine backup at the same time! I also cover some simple housekeeping steps to weed out the data and applications that clutter up your hard disk. The show covers:

Selecting an External Hard Disk
Partitioning your new disk
Creating a Time Machine volume
Creating a Bootable Backup using Superduper
Testing your Bootable Backup
Disk Housekeeping
Identifying large files with Grandperspective
Removing Applications with Appzapper
Updating Applications with AppFresh

SCO0119 - Email - Single Inbox for the iPhone and Mac [Full Free Show]

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:11:27 +0100

Struggling with finding the optimum email solution to use with your iPhone? Do you have multiple email accounts that you'd like to process in a single universal inbox? Would you like to have all your email synchronised and available from any device and from any location?

If so this weeks show may be for you.

It's my personal journey from traditional POP based email clients through web based solutions to finally a scheme that gives me the flexibility and control to access my email from anywhere. It's all about IMAP and harnessing the power of IMAP to give you the best of all worlds when accessing your mail.

Even if you're not an iPhone user, the recently expanded .Mac service gives you some huge benefits over more traditional POP or web based solutions.

This week show covers:

Introduction to POP email
Introduction to Web based email
Utilising GMail Mail Fetcher
Introduction to .Mac Mail
Configuring POP, GMAIL and .Mac
Creating a single universal Inbox

SCO0118 - iWork08 - Keynote Update [Trailer]

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:02:20 +0100

More iWork 08 goodness this week as I take a look at some of the new features in Keynote 08, Apples fantastic presentation application.

Keynote 3 was great but Apple have added in some additional features that really take Keynote to the next level. It's one of those applications that make you thankful you're a Mac user and might even just make those business users sitting on the fence make the final leap!

There is already a full ScreenCastsOnline tutorial on Keynote 3 covering some of the basic functionality so this week's show focusses on the new and improved elements within Keynote 08. The show also takes a more advanced approach on how you can configure the new features to create even more sophisticated and impressive effects!

This weeks show includes:

Introduction & New Effects
Smart Builds
Integrating Smart Builds with Bullet Points
Instant Alpha
Creating Animations
Presenters Display Setup & Usage
Adding an Audio Narration
Exporting & Printing

For more details on becoming an Extra! member to get this show plus over 110+ other screencasts all in HD plus the next six months worth of shows, just visit http://www.screencastsonline.com/extra