This is just a quick post.... I finally headed over to Google's site to check out Google Buzz – the Big G's take on social networking.
My quick thoughts –

1. If you love Gmail.... you'll probably like it.
2. It seems to want to put Facebook and Picassa front and center.
3. I don't like that it tries to "help" you and automatically follows the people you email the most. Just because I email a client a lot does NOT mean I want to follow them (or them me). A lot of clients do socialize with me via Facebook, but that is a CHOICE. Do not make decisions for me.
4. It imports Twitter.... I wonder how they feel about that? Wouldn't be surprised if they blocked it. Same thing with flickr (a Yahoo property).
5. I love Facebook and Twitter... but they are VERY different. This seems to be trying to be "both and more." When is that a good thing?
6. "Buzz recommends interesting posts and weeds out ones you're likely to skip." Uh-huh... just like those incredibly effective Google Ads you sere up when I do a search that have little to NOTHING to do with what I'm interested in?
7. It seems to be Google Wave... take 2. Except Google Wave is still around. I got an invite... but only a few people I know use it. Unlike say Facebook.

So... here's the link – http://www.google.com/buzz
Me... I'm skeptical as hell.

This line says it best – "Budgets lead to money and money leads to exciting things"



Check out more shows from MacBreak – http://www.youtube.com/user/macbreaksf

It's almost time for NAB – The National Association of Broadcasters Conference. If you want a free NAB pass for show floor or to save $100 on any conference — then here's a great offer. Thanks to Creative Cow, visit http://tinyurl.com/nab10cow and enter code CC01 and save — good thru February 19.

Are you looking for an easy way to share presentations online? Then check out SlideShare.net. With it you can embed slideshows into your own blog or website. You can also sync audio to your slides and make shows public or private.

Here's how:

1. Uploading Your Presentation – It can be a PowerPoint, OpenOffice, Keynote, or PDF file. Your presentation file should not be password protected and be sure to remove any macros. Not all fonts supported (but you can convert to PDF). Be sure the file is less than 100MB.
2. Converting Your Presentation – The second step is converting the file to SlideShare’s sharing format. Once uploaded, the file is placed in the conversion queue (this might take a while). You can leave the page and come back later... If there was an error you will need to go to the
   “My Slidespace/Edit All” to find the files that were not successfully converted.
3. Creating a Slidecast– Slidecasting is a multimedia format from SlideShare. Any slide deck can be synced with an audio file.
4. Put it all Together – Use the synchronization tools to mix audio and slides.
5. Publish the presentation.

Richard Harrington shows Alex Lindsay how to streamline document updates with a customized media placeholder in Pages '09.

Adding video elements to a presentation is an easy way to make a good presentation a great one. In this video, we add a video to an Apple Keynote presentation and go through all the options of using video in it.

Here's a new class I am teaching in New York and Washington, DC. I promise to cram in lots of practical advice to get results.

Social Media for Business Professionals
Washington, DC: Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 – Register
New York: Thursday, March 11th, 2010 – Register
Time: 6-9pm
Cost: $199

When used correctly, social media tools can help you reach potential customers and keep your current clients engaged and interested. In this informative session you'll learn practical advice that can be implemented immediately. Such as: - How to use Twitter to share your latest news and keep in touch with your best customers - Learning how to set up a corporate page on Facebook to share video, photos, and information - Keeping your business leads up to date with LinkedIn - Creating enjoyable blog posts and content for your readers Target audience: This class is for business professionals looking to increase business opportunities through social media tools. The workshop focusses on practical ways to establish a social media presence that is both effective and maintainable.

We've got another episode of MacBreak Work! Rich Harrington shows Alex how to use Mail Merge in iWork '09. This is a great way to create several customized documents from a database.

Here are links to get the free episode.

http://www.pixelcorps.tv/macbreak_work018

http://www.youtube.com/user/macbreaksf

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=308761591

Direct Download

MacBreak Work is back! In this new episode we cover how to align items in a presentation. You'll also learn cool new transitions in Keynote ‘09.

Here are links to get the free episode.

http://www.pixelcorps.tv/macbreak_work017

http://www.youtube.com/user/macbreaksf

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=308761591

I head to the Editors Retreat event in Miami tomorrow (this is my sixth time going - it's that good). Lots of great networking and training events for all. I'll have some resources (and hopefully one of my sessions posted this week). Hope to see some of you at the event.

An intensive, interactive environment for TV, video and film editors that fosters creativity and the exchange of ideas at the highest level.

• Four Days of Sessions in Multiple Tracks.
• Award-Winning Keynote Speakers.
• Daily Social Networking with Experts.
• Numerous Prizes.

This is a funny video (thanks to John Nack for pointing it out). For those not in the know, b-roll is typically stock footage that helps illustrate what a video project is about. It covers up the A-roll (or talking head and narration parts). For those in the video industry, you'll love the "That's not B-roll" line.

This looks to be something worth keeping an eye on. Google reveals more about their new Operating System.

"Of the new titles released last year, almost 99 percent of them didn't sell enough copies to let their creators earn a living from CD sales, and almost 95 percent of them didn't sell enough copies to cover the most basic expenses involved in their recording."

Depressing.....

Check out the article Selling CDs is no way to make a living.

I was interviewed for this documentary. I'm looking forward to seeing it. http://www.galloway.tv/reppt/

"Release Date: March 15, 2010 on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, & Comcast VOD

Distribution: Method Content LLC

Director’s Comment: I’ve done nearly 200 speeches in the last 3 years, and in every one, clients insisted I include a PowerPoint presentation. My film “Why Walmart Works” was about the scale and influence of Walmart, and I became fascinated with the scale of PowerPoint, which has an estimated 400 million users worldwide.

The documentary “Regarding Powerpoint” traces the origin of the program and its subsequent development. We’ll look at who uses the program for what purposes. The film will also address PowerPoint’s effect of cognitive development and syntax structure, i.e., is society beginning to think in outlines and bullet points, as opposed to to paragraphs? Does anybody give a speech without slides anymore? Will audiences listen to one?

Much as Walmart dominates physical distribution of goods, PowerPoint has come to dominate business expression and presentation. “Regarding Powerpoint” will attempt to put the program’s influence on business, education, and thinking into meaningful context."

For a quick overview on creating video budgets with Apple Numbers, be sure to watch this informative video. You can also visit the website www.peachpit.com/videomac in order to download the budget template.

It's that time again... we've launched our survey for the month of October. It's time for you to cast your vote and have your voice/click heard.

This time we want to know which technology has had the greatest impact on your career/hobby. To clarify, we're talking hardware, software, or both. If you had to pick one (and only one) which would it be? Additionally, you have the option to vote for the ubiquitous ‘other’ but please be sure to identify it in the Comments section. Feel free to offer other opinions in the Comments feed as well.

A show that is produced in my studios, MommyCast, is one the fron page of iTunes. A big congrats to the team behind the show. The featured episode is on the swine flu outbreak and is worth checking out for important information on staying healthy.

This article was originally written for inclusion in the first edition of Photoshop for Video. I present it here as I think the information is important (despite the publisher cutting it).


by Dave A. Anselmi
You all know the feeling—that annoying “nag” in your wrists, that stinging or “tingling” feeling down your forearms, perhaps that aching pain in your shoulders and neck. At first it was a minor annoyance… and now, sometimes you find yourself “rushing” your edits, or perhaps even not editing at all, because of the pain.

You’re not alone. As more and more people become “knowledge workers”, doctors and therapists are seeing more and more cases of Computer-Related Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI), or colloquially, “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” (CTS). And Non-Linear Editors are especially susceptible, what with their long hours sitting in the dark, ‘hunched’ over a keyboard, moving the mouse back and forth. Read More...

Here I’ve gone and given you all sorts of things to try with your computer. I would feel guilty if I didn’t bring up ergonomics. The goal behind ergonomics is to design the work to best fit the worker. Highly repetitive tasks are prone cause physical problems. The goal is to prevent back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and other musculoskeletal disorders.

How serious is the problem? Very. According to the U.S. department of Labor, approximately one-third of all occupational injuries are directly tied to over-exertion and repetitive motion. These injuries cost employers over $20 billion in worker compensation each year.

Read More...

I am officially on Twitter... you can follow if you'd like: 1. Random thoughts. 2. Cool links from Smart Friends 3. Breaking News. If my babbling doesn't bore you... http://twitter.com/rhedpixel

[never mind the music, cue the video intro] "It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... ...

Richard Harrington

Check out this fun interview at Dave’s blog.

Live from the Voices That Matter conference, San Francisco, author Richard Harrington discusses the factors that have caused online video consumption to grow exponentially over the past few years.



Live from the Voices That Matter conference, author Richard Harrington reveals what’s next beyond YouTube and why offering consumers the ability to download your content is imperative. He also talks about Facebook’s platform, video user statistics, demographics, what constitutes an optimal distribution plan for publishers, and why “video is the new photography.”

Adobe has a great new technology that makes video searchable. I’ve written a detailed tutorial available at ProVideoCoalition.com.


“With the proliferation of video on the Web, access to information is getting easier to find and understand (for most).  The challenge is twofold: first is getting people to find and search your video for the right information and second is if the individual has an auditory impairment, so much information is only available in the audio track.  This is why there has been such a big push to make video searchable online and more accessible. In this article you’ll use Adobe’s tool set to set up your video content for both goals.”

I recently spoke at the Authors Video Workshops in Boston. The event was sponsored by the BOSFCPUG & Focal Press. Over two days, I spoke on three topics I am passionate about: Photoshop, Final Cut, and web video.

Here are some of the promised resources.

Photoshop For Video

• Slides
• Book
• Website
• Podcast

Professional Color Correction in Final Cut Pro

• Book
• Website
• DVD
• Podcast

Producing Video Podcasts and Web Video

• Slides
• Book
• Website
• Podcast

Enjoy... reviews on Amazon and iTunes always appreciated.

If you’ve wondered why I’ve been so quite lately... it’s because I’ve been hard at work on both of these books. I’m proud to announce that these will be shipping in just a few weeks. Both feature a ton of new projects and all sorts of new tips. Even if you have previous editions of the books, you won’t want to miss these. We’ve completely rewritten nearly every chapter with a ton of new projects, design tips, and a bunch of really helpful advice.


Apple Training Series: iWork 09
In the only Apple-certified guide to iWork ’09, you’ll learn to create everything from first-rate business presentations and newsletters to effective budgets and event planners. Focused lessons take you step by step through all aspects of Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. The self-paced book/DVD combo uses real-life material and practical lessons that you can apply immediately to your own projects. You’ll learn to:

• Master the iWork suite of tools quickly through fun, real-world projects
• Design a Keynote presentation from storyboard to Web export
• Add animated charts and motion backgrounds to a presentation with ease
• Publish great-looking newsletters and brochures in print and on the Web
• Build a professional marketing package from scratch
• Create expense reports, track budgets, and plan special events
• Sort, organize, and chart data using sophisticated spreadsheet calculations

Get iWork ‘09 for 34% off the cover price

Apple Training Series: iLife 09
In the only Apple-certified guide to iLife ’09, the authors have you working miracles with iLife within the first few pages. Featuring footage and images from around the world, this book/DVD combo uses real-life material and practical lessons that you can apply immediately to your own projects. Focused lessons take you step by step through all aspects of iLife ’09—everything from organizing and sharing your photo library to creating polished video and soundtracks. Along the way, you’ll produce movies, photobooks, podcasts, websites, blogs, and custom DVDs.

Get iLife ‘09 for 34% off the cover price

I worked hard on these... there’s a ton of new stuff and I really hope you check them out.

I love how Trent Reznor keeps innovating. The Nine Inch Nails front man keeps releasing tracks for fan in new ways. One of the coolest is the option for remixes. He’s also released free tracks for fans to download.

“The NIN/JA 2009 tour site is now live at ninja2009.com and features a FREE download with exclusive, previously-unreleased music from Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction, and Street Sweeper. You can also browse tour dates, photos, videos, and listen to streaming music.

Additionally, starting today you'll have the option to remix two Jane's Addiction tracks and one Street Sweeper track on http://remix.nin.com

Check this out... a colleague of mine speaking on a cool topic.



Watch Future in Motion, A History of Tomorrow's Interfaces, Mason Dixon, MGFest  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Seems like times are changing... Apple (and more importantly, movie studios) have decided to start offering high-definition movie sales and rentals through the iTunes Store. This is yet another sign that consumers want digital downloads (and are willing to pay a fair price). Let’s hope more studios come on board.

Starting today, movie fans can purchase box office blockbusters for download in HD for $19.99 from iTunes, and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Customers can enjoy these films in HD on their Mac or PC and on their widescreen TV with Apple TV, as well as in standard definition on their iPhone or iPod with video.

I know some of you hate iPhone posts (sorry)....

But here’s something I just had to gush about.... The mophie Juice Pack iPhone battery is shipping. I had the original battery pack, but with the new form-factor for the 3G phones, I had to upgrade. Here’s the specs:

• Standby Time – Up to 350 hours
• Talk Time – 6 additional hours on 3G | 12 hours on 2G
• Internet Use – 6 additional hours on 3G | 7 hours on Wi-Fi
• Audio Playback – 28 additional hours
• Video Playback – 8 additional hours

This device is absolutely awesome and lets me get through a long day of business.

I often preach extensively about project management at design and creative conferences around the globe. The one piece of paperwork that I always emphasize is completing a scoping document for a project then getting the client to sign off and accept it. This one piece of papaerwork can solve all sorts of problems and is really worth the 2-5 hours it takes to write. The outline is as follows.

Project Scoping Document

( 2 - 1 0 p a g e s )

• Project Name
• Executive Summary
• Background
• Project Scope (High Level)

• Project Objectives
• Deliverables
• Organizations
• Interfaces Required
• Assumptions
• Constraints
• Evaluation Criteria
• Risks
• Rewards
• Budgets
• Schedules (Due Dates)
• Project Team Readiness

• Key Roles

• Executive Sponsor
• Project Manager
• Business Experts
• Technical Experts

• Signature Lines - Sign Off “Charter”

SubEthaEdit - $35 [Mac] http://www.codingmonkeys.de
Having creative sessions and want to keep notes? This application is the perfect note taker. It allows you to collaborate on one open document across your network. It’s also rendezvous enabled so it’s easy for other Mac users to join in. Nice features such as color-coding for each user as well as time stamping make this a flexible tool.

If you need some groupthink without the use of a projector... then this is a perfect tool.

Oftentimes you’ll need to create a form letter to send to multiple clients (such as an address change or a promotional letter). If you’d like to personalize these letters, Apple Pages makes it easy to insert data you’ve defined for contacts in Address Book. This can save you time because you can reuse a letter, envelope, or other document for multiple people. This feature is generally called a mail merge.
Read More...

I don’t live in the world of website creation every day... but I’ve been putting up sites since the launch of Mosaic back with PageMill 1.0. I may be a little slow.. but here’s fourteen questions I recommend getting answers to before you build a site (feel free to comment and I’ll expand the list).

Project Planning Sheet – Website

Objectives

1) What main points do you wish to make with your website? (No more than five)
2) Who is the audience? (Please be specific)
3) What is the market’s current attitude toward your company?
4) What objections to potential customers have to your company?
5) What do you want the consumer to think after they see your website?
6) What do you want the consumer to feel after they see your website?
7) What do you want want the consumer to do after they see your website?
8) What Five adjectives describe the look and feel of your future website?
9) Are there any special features or design ideas you have about your website?

Administrative

10) Who will be involved with creating the content of the website?
11) Who has final website approval?
12) What are your deadlines?
13) Is your domain registered? If so, what is the URL and where is it registered?
14) Have you selected a web hosting company?

NOTE: Please send any relevant documents or promotional material that will affect the content of your website

Noted author and podcaster Scott Kelby has a great interview on copyright, photographers’ rights, and release forms. This is truly great and worth checking out.

“If you’ve been reading this blog for the past month or so, you’ve read my posts about photographers being harassed when shooting in public, and a lot of readers have chimed in with comments about what we can and can’t shoot, what our rights as photographers are and aren’t, our interpretations of copyright law, and so on. There’s just one problem; we’re not attorneys.

So, I contacted New York-based Intellectual Property Attorney Ed Greenberg, who’s a published author on the topic, and who has been dealing with photography copyright, contract, and creative rights issues for over 30 years, to finally get the straight no-nonsense scoop on all this.”
You can watch the interview here. Enjoy!

There's a great article over at Pro Video Coalition about using web tools to collaborate with other creative pros. The article is written by Steve Hullfish who truly knows his stuff...

“A few weeks ago there was a short but interesting thread on CML-pro (The Cinematographer’s Mailing List) about how to collaborate with other creatives on a production team using web-based tools. The original poster wanted a solution – a “group scrapbook” - that would allow a small pre-production team to share images, photos and notes. Expanding on the idea a little further, it would be good to be able to communicate across the group, share schedules, comments and video.
There were basically six good solutions presented by members of the list:

• Google Sites – basically a free on-line website creator.
• Celtx – free software that links to free shared web storage specifically for film and TV productions.
• BackPackIt – subscription-based team collaboration website
• BaseCamp – subscription-based team collaboration website
• Picassa Web – on-line photo sharing
• .mac account with iWeb – simple website creation with annual subscription for serving.

I examined each of these concepts for a project I’m beginning. There are pros and cons to each approach and I figure that you might benefit from all of my legwork.”

You can check out the entire article here.

One of the first bands I fell in love with during college was Nine Inch Nails (actually back then, it wasn't a band). The seminal record, Pretty Hate Machine was a mash-up of Prince Samples and Orchestral Scores from Stephen King and Clive Barker films (along with many other sounds). Since then Trent Reznor has continued to evolve/

Yesreday they‘ve releases The Slip—a new 10-track album—for free on http://theslip.nin.com/. The record is available in virtually every flavor of DRM-free digital format, all you need to do is give them your email address. The album will eventually be available in traditional formats as well. This move mirrors those of both Radiohead and Prince.

Read More...

Following up on my "Really Cool Adobe Announcements" post...

Adobe has actually posted their "secret" presentation from NAB. Hart Shafer talks about four cool things Adobe has up their sleeve.



You SO need to watch this... trust me. BTW (for those of you waiting... they did show OnLocation for Mac in this demo).

Adobe released the Adobe Media Player software on April 9, which allows a customizable, cross-platform media player experience. Built using the Adobe AIR runtime, the media player harnessed the power of Flash to create a rich media experience. To complete the experience, Adobe adds support for both RSS feeds and H.264 video, two of the open standards used by the podcasting movement.

What does this all mean? I had a chance to sit down with Deeje Cooley, who serves as an evangelist for Adobe’s Dynamic Media Organization (and formerly as the product manager for the Adobe Media Player). Cooley was tasked with bringing the product to market and he shared insight into Adobe’s motivation for the product and goals for its role in the market. Unlike competing products, the Adobe Media Player has chosen to focus on being a video-only player.

“The growth of video online, the dramatic growth of flash as the video delivery mechanism of choice… there was a ripe opportunity to take advantage of all these events around the industry,” said Cooley. “We started to build an RSS aggregator and quickly recognized that video was going to be a significant media online and so it became a video RSS aggregator. And so that’s really the birth of the Adobe Media Player.”

MUCH MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Read More...

Adobe showed some awesome stuff at NAB. My favorite was a future version of Premiere that transcribes your footage, then makes the transcription searchable for both editing and publishing to the web. I was going to do an in-depth write-up.... but then I got busy (still will).

In the meantime. Check out this article for details.
http://www.peachpit.com/blogs/blog.aspx?b=a75e92b0-f44f-4dfb-9eb4-96920bcaddc1

This is an excerpt from an article to be released in full later this week:

Adobe released the Adobe Media Player software on April 9, which allows a customizable, cross-platform media player experience. Built using as an Adobe Air application, the media player harnessed the power of Flash to create a rich media experience. To complete the experience, Adobe adds support for both RSS feeds and H.264 video, two of the open standards used by the podcasting movement.

What does this all mean? I had a chance to sit down with Deeje Cooley, who serves as the evangelist for Adobe’s Dynamic Media Organization (and formerly as the product manager for the Adobe Media Player). Cooley was tasked with bringing the product to market and he shared insight into Adobe’s motivation for the product and goals for its role in the market. Unlike competing products, the Adobe Media Player has chosen to focus on being a video-only player.

“The growth of video online, the dramatic growth of flash as the video delivery mechanism of choice… there was a ripe opportunity to take advantage of all these events around the industry,” said Cooley. “We started to build an RSS aggregator and quickly recognized that video was going to be a significant media online and so it became a video RSS aggregator. And so that’s really the birth of the Adobe Media Player.”



The Adobe Media Player is immediately available as a free download for Windows and Macintosh platforms from http://www.adobe.com/go/mp.

Digital Media Wire has a very interesting article about the fate of HD-DVD. Seems Wal-Mart had dropped HD DVD (along with Best Buy and Netflix).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba "is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks." THR noted, however, that Toshiba says no official decision has been made. "Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players," Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, told THR. Toshiba had hoped that slashing the prices on its HD DVD players last month would help bolster sales, but subsequent sales data from NPD showed that Blu-ray maintained its wide sales lead despite the move.  

• Related Links:
• http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/5673.aspx
• http://tinyurl.com/2wn5fe (Hollywood Reporter)
• http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/02/15/wal-mart-drops-hd-dvd%3B-toshiba-expected-pull-plug

I saw this very cool product at Macworld Expo called Flow. It is a revolutionary workflow management technology designed to work with Adobe and Apple software. The product took Best of Show (and for good reason). You can see it in action in a video demo on their site. 

"Flow is a revolutionary approach to digital content management that dramatically simplifies the design process for creative professionals working on graphic design, web and video projects. Flow automatically tracks your work from idea to end result and manages your assets and applications for your most complex projects- all without changing the way you work."

Flow isn't shipping for a while, but GridIron is accepting sign-ups for beta testing.

Looking for a better way to show your images on the web? Adobe has boosted Bridge with new web galleries.

"Adobe® Media Gallery (AMG) for Adobe Bridge adds quick, powerful Web gallery creation to Adobe Photoshop® CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended and the Adobe Creative Suite®. AMG makes it possible to create HTML or Flash-based galleries from any of the file formats supported by Bridge; adjust the galleries using the built-in preview; and export the results or upload them via FTP."

The add-on is free... and works great with easy preview and FTP options. You can download the free plug-in at http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Adobe_Media_Gallery.

Those who know me personally, know I am very passionate about podcasting. I have been hard at work for the last year on a new book on just that, video podcasting. My business partner, Mark Weiser, and I have taken many of the hard lessons learned at RHED Pixel and put them into a book. The book is full color and richly illustrated, plus there will also be a companion website and podcast launching in January.

The book ships in February, but you can get the biggest discount by pre-ordering it from Amazon.com.

I wanted to let you all know about a great training conference coming up, the Editors Retreat. I've been to this event five times now and it is fantastic. It's a chance to network and learn from the bet editors in the business. It is truly an amazing event and I encourage you to have a look.

Here are some sessions I look forward to attending.

• Scene it: Color Correction as a Storytelling Tool – Steve Hullfish
• Keynote Presentation – Oscar-nominated Editor, Sally Menke
• Everything You Need to Know About Audio – Coll Anderson
• Your Professional Future: What To Do in The Next Year to Stay Ahead –Bob Donlon
• Keynote Presentation – Emmy-nominated Editor, David Helfand

My company recently produced a new podcast series called OnMicrosoft (and yes, its about Microsoft). Here's the official blurb.


OnMicrosoft—Each week, we will talk to some of the IT Pro and Developer community's leading experts about a wide range of programming, systems, and software issues. Our interviews include talks with Microsoft’s Program Manager on the .NET Framework- Brad Abrams, Connected Systems Division Architect at Microsoft- Chris Anderson, Wintellect Co-Founder- Jeff Prosise, and Group Product Manager at Microsoft- Brian Goldfarb. With discussions on topics including ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, PowerShell WPF, Orcas and SharePoint, we have something for professionals working in every part of the industry.

You can check it out in iTunes by clicking here – Video Feed or Audio Feed.

I was there... I oohed and aahed with the rest of them... then I asked questions. Is the phone really cool? Yup. Will I buy one? Yup. Is it perfect? Nope... and here's hoping that Apple will listen to some of the criticism.

First off... if you haven't looked at the online demo on Apple's website, be sure to check it out. It is both informative and an impressive use of the web for an interactive demo.

Cool... huh? I agree... but here's my list of gripes.

1. The battery is not user changeable. I travel a lot and carry three cell phone batteries with me. I've also run my iPod dead while on a plane. See the math? What also happens when the battery stops charging all the way? Currently Apple needs to service iPod batteries and it takes a few days.

2. They say it runs OSX and "desktop class" applications – but that doesn't really mean any application and no they won't let third-party software develop titles independently. Rather, it'll be more like iPod games, just a few titles and tight control.

3. It looks to have none of the following items – no iChat, no AIM, no Games, no GPS, no Java, and no Flash (yet most carriers and phones offer these).

To be fair... here's what's great about it:
1. You iPod accessories and chargers work with it.
2. Apple has confirmed that they can (and will) release updates for it like the iPod.
3. Apple i supporting third-party hardware development.
4. The map features is really cool.
5. It has an "airplane mode" so you can turn off wireless but leave the unit on.
6. You can see all your voice mails as a list and check them out of order.
7. Widescreen video playback.
8. A great looking web browser.
9. It's really thin!

David Pogue has lots of great info on his blog | post 1 | post 2

And hey... the release date isn't until June. So maybe they'll continue to tweak it a bit.

While I was traveling for DV Expo, we decided to pick up a new digital audio recorder. After an exhaustive search, we decided upon the Microtrack 24/96 from M-Audio. This recorder has proven very flexible as we can use it several ways.

• It can be patched into a soundboard easily with three different connection types
• It can be connected to a video camera's headphone port to record audio
• It has an attachable mike for quick voice records of meetings or creative sessions

The feature list is pretty impressive as it offers pro options at a reasonable price. It's important that you download the latest software updates (which are free) but the whole package is great. I love being able to both charge and transfer data via a USB 2 cable. Don't let some of the inexperienced Amazon reviewers throw you off, I trust the recommendation of Douglas Spotted Eagle any day.

If you are in need of some new ideas or inspiration, be sure to check out the new articles from Adobe experts. There's a full list posted over at PhotoshopNews.com and there's some truly great stuff in there. While the articles skew towards digital photographers (like most of Adobe these days), I found these two very useful.

Digital Image Integrityby George ReisPhotographs have been altered or “faked” ever since the very beginning of chemical photography. Learn how Photoshop CS is providing forensics experts and law enforcement specialists better tools for evaluating the authenticity of a photograph.

Black and White Conversion Tutorialby John Paul CaponigroAre you looking for more detail in your digital B&W conversions? Or perhaps better contrast and tonal separation? Here’s an opportunity to learn how to get maximum flexibility out of your B&W conversions. Follow along step-by-step, as John Paul Caponigro shows you how the pros do it in this dynamic PDF tutorial.

In case you didn't know, the Sony Playstation Portable (aka PSP) is podcast compatible. Just not right out of the box. Sony sells a software/cable bundle called the Sony PSP Media Manager which lets you manage your media library (even iTunes) and move things onto the Playstation Portable. On the Mac side, there's a great piece of shareware called PSPWare which lets you mange media on your Mac and move things over. All in all, pretty dang cool (plus it gave me a "legitmate" reason to finally pick one up).

I was talking with some software developers over a great dinner last night and we got on a favorite topic, collaboration. I brought up one of my favorite tools, SubEthaEdit ($35 from www.codingmonkeys.de). You can collaborate on one open document across your network. It's also Apple Rendezvous (aka Bonjour under OS 10.4)-enabled, so it's easy for other Mac users to join in. Nice features such as color-coding for each user and time stamping make this a flexible tool. If you need some group-think without the use of a projector, this is a perfect tool.

For more on great shareware, see this useful article.

In need of someone training this Fall? We've released five new titles. Three are brand new for Final Cut Pro users: Color Correction, Advanced Trimming, and Media Management. These are three areas that even the most experienced user can gain speed and confidence.

We've also significantly updated two of our best sellers: An Inside Look at the HVX-200 and a guide to working with HD Media. There are these and several more available at VASST.com. We hope you enjoy them!

Tonight, I ended up in a K-mart (I was looking for a bin of Tinker Toys for my son Michael). My eye was caught by the promise of 'free high-speed internet access' (or acceso gratuito de alta velocidad a internet for K-mart's Spanish speaking customers). Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me.

1. Who exactly goes to K-mart with a laptop?

2. While they do have a snack-bar, could you really see yourself sitting down with a big tall ICEE (blue please) and telecommute?

3. Where did they dig up the dinosaur 'Application Center' terminal. This thing totally looks like a TRS (Trash) 80... If you know what I mean... please validate this inane post by leaving a comment.

Well, as a podcaster, I guess I should be glad that you can now get my latest episodes at K-mart. Be sure to stop into your “all-new” K-mart (now owned by Sears) and see what joys lie in-store for you.

While at the Ottawa Convention Center for the Podcasting and Portable Media Expo, I was quite surprised to see a large vending machine filled with electronics. Everything from iPods to PlayStation Portables stocked this machine. It was really pretty amazing. Swipe your credit card and you could be basic things like an iPod cable or laptop cable, to a 60GB video iPod. Prices were the same as retail in a store... so there was really no disadvantage to buying (although I imagine returns or exchanges would be tricky). And unlike that bag of M&Ms, they product does not fall to the ground (a robotic arm/magic elf gently moves the package from shelf to pickup bin).I am sure there are more of these out there... anyone ever buy from one?

I have found the best gadget for traveling... an affordable GPS system that you can take with you on the road. I'm in LA for the Podcasting Expo and I bought a portable GPS unit (for those of you who've driven LA, you'll understand the need to bale from a clogged highway and find a new route). The Garmin Nuvi 360 Pocket or Vehicle GPS Navigator just rocks.

• It just works, zero problems getting a signal and clear directions.
• It has Bluetooth which is really cool. Pair it with your cell phone and it works as a speaker phone. Need to find a hotel or restaurant, click the built-in guide then push the phone button and you are connected. Dial the office and you have a great hands-free speaker phone. It's clear for both parties and totally works.
• It has built-in storage, and can play music (and even cooler Audible books).
• The screen is bright and clear, plus its a touch screen
• It charges via a USB cable or runs of a cigarette adapter.
• You can put it into a pedestrian mode for walking around cities (it'll ignore one ways, or places that aren't accessible to pedestrians).
• There are no subscription fees.

Be sure to check it out... this little device has taken away a big chunk of the stress I feel in rental cars (and makes my wife happy as she uses it in her non-GPSed car when I am not traveling).

Thanks to Terry White from Adobe for the initial tip.

It’s finally shipping, my new DVD. If you need to use photos in your videos or film, you'll enjoy this new disc. I go very in-depth on how to create standard and 3D camera moves with photos.

Motion Control: Using Photoshop and After Effects To Tranform Still Images into Moving Footage
No longer locked to a stationary position on screen, your photos now possess distinct storytelling abilities.  Join Richard Harrington, Photoshop and motion graphics guru, as he reveals the top techniques used by pros to bring still images to life.  This DVD will benefit all users interested in improved storytelling abilities. You’ll learn essential techniques both in 2D and 3D space.

• Adobe Photoshop essentials
• Traditional two-dimensional motion control
• Using 3D cameras
• Working in 3D space
• Using 3D lighting to enhance your images
• Performing advanced camera operations
  

Bonus Features

• Original and processed images
• Adobe Photoshop and After Effects project assets

Estimated ship date is September 20th 2006. You can order it here.

A few months ago, my new book on Adobe Photoshop was released. I'm not one for fancy titles... so I simply called this one "Understanding Adobe Photoshop." The book combined everything I learned teaching Adobe Photoshop to both college students and working pros, and it is targeted for both new users and those who are self-taught (having never taken a full college-level class).

The book is doing well (but of course... I'd be happy to sell more). It is very well-suited for classroom use as well with hundreds of hands-on exercises (including images) as well as 4.5 hours of training videos. Enough of my thoughts... what are others saying?
Read More...

Looking for a helpful tool to for designers? Then check out the Art Directors Toolkit. Although this handy application can't make you an art director for 40 bucks, it replaces a bunch of tools that always seem to get misplaced in my office. It's designed for print pros, but motion graphics and web designers will appreciate some of its key features:
- A Scale Calculator to help you determine percentages for resizing to a specific target.- A text-preview window so you can see source copy in a variety of fonts.- A symbol-conversion pane to unlock specialty characters in your fonts.- A Swatch Book for viewing Pantone colors and finding related colors.- A Blend window to find a third color that will work well with two others.- A Units Converter to calculate different measurement conversions.- A very robust RGB color picker.

So... you may have picked up on my love of all things EVDO. These great cards let the business traveler or mobile blogger kill off the expense of logging in at coffee shops, hotels, and convention centers (I've had months where access has run me $225). Unfortunately, the new Macs and Dells required an ExpressCard (which was not available until today). But I have mine, and thanks to the card... I am mobile and plugged in (in fact that is how this very entry was posted!)

Hats off to EVDO Info for shipping as promised and getting it to me overnight. Note, their website references a high demand... so if you need one... pre-order.

“The demand is huge for the ExpressCard. We sold out of our first shipment (which is being sent out to customers on 8/11/2006). Our next shipment is currently scheduled for 8/23/2006.”

Boy... do I love wireless internet.... *GRIN*

As a person living in target number one (Washington, D.C.) the news of a recently foiled terrorist attack greatly bothered me. As the frequent business traveler, I was stymied by the news reports that all sorts of items such as laptops, cell phones, and iPods were being banned. I thought... how could they? Could you imagine a flight where no business traveler got any work done no child could watch a movie, those of us who like quiet time couldn't ignore the world by drowning it out with an iPod?
Read More...

Welcome to our new series... Technology Word of the Month. I encounter a lot of overly plugged-in folks each month and they often have their own language. In my efforts to keep you a member of the techno-elite, I bring you the word of the month for August.

MACDINKED – verb: When a designer (or client) continues to tweak a project beyond an appropriate level because they are technologically capable of doing so.

This word was brought to my attention by my Dad (and yes... I felt slightly aghast that he was more plugged in). Feel free to comment or add your own. Email submissions welcome and there will be a prize for the best word each month.

Many of you voted in our survey last month about computer hardware. The results were very interesting with Macintosh taking a strong lead. In fact we weren't the only ones who were interested in your future technology plans. Inside Mac Radio featured the results of the survey on the daily Macintosh podcast for August 3. You can listen to it here if you'd like. Be sure to vote each month as your input affects the coverage of this site as well as which training products we release.

I came across a great piece of software called ProfCast that lets you turn a Keynote presentation into an enhanced podcast. These podcasts are very small as it is jut an audio file, but when viewed on an iPod or within iTunes, the artwork changes for the slide. It's a pretty cool way for teachers to share their lessons, and the whole process is very easy for the mildly tech-savvy to perform. I covered how to do this very task using iWork and Garageband in the new iWork book, but this application saves several steps and is very pleasant to use. You can create a podcast directly, sent it to GarageBand or iWeb, or take it directly online to a user-specified server (.xml authoring for the feed is included). At $25 its an affordable tool all Mac-based educators or technical trainers should add.

UPDATE – The new version also works with PowerPoint

If you are having a bad creative day working on your clients latest ad... be sure to try out the online Advertising Slogan Generator. You type in a word and it spits out your latest soda catch phrase. Don't like the first result.. click again. It's a good way to waste some time and still feel like you're working.

Okay its silly.... but I like surreal items. They make me think and smile. Be sure to check it out, then explore the site for other fun/useful items.

Apple launched Aperture, then Adobe announced Lightroom. Leave it to Microsoft to get in on the fray. iView Multimedia is now part of Microsoft. Micrsoft has picked up three products: View MediaPro, iView Media, iView Catalog Reader. As people gather more and more photos, movies, and other digital files, keeping track of them all gets even harder. Yan Calotychos, has written a letter about the Microsoft deal which you can read here.

Narrator: “Raster|Vector: website. A blog barely alive.”
Adam Kranitz: “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the polls more responsive and interactive. Raster|Vector will be that site. Better than it was before. Better…stronger…faster.”

Okay, so if you voted before, you'll need to revoice your opinion. I've opened up both polls (just scroll down). Let your voice be heard... or at least make a really loud click.

After catching Pixar's latest triumph, Cars, I felt the desire to poke around the web for some behind the scenes info. While there's lots out there, I found a great blog that goes in depth on the people and technology behind the films. If you enjoy Pixar's animation, be sure to check out Luxo (named after the lamp in the logo and in this great short). The blog features a ton of stories of its own, as well as video clips and a wealth of external links. Whether your into the films or the business side of computer graphics, you should check this one out.

It's that time again... we've launched our survey for July. This time its all about hardware. For your next computer purchase will it be Mac or PC? Desktop or Laptop? Be sure to vote for your next credit card bill... inquiring minds want to know.

We've switched the office over to a new calendar program. We've outgrown iCal and needed something beefier. After a lot of searching and trials, we decided upon CC Calendar (Scheduling Edition). The Calendar is essentially a Filemaker Pro file, which means you can share it with other users in the office. It's totally flexible and allows for tracking of rooms, people, and to-do items. And as far as iCal goes, it even offers syncing options.

To download a demo.
To download FileMaker Pro demo.