Let's Get Together on May 17
Posted Monday, May 05, 2008
Attention, iLife lovers! On Saturday, May 17, I'm delivering a full-day workshop on iLife '08 in partnership with the Diablo Valley Macintosh Users Group.
I'll be focusing primarily on iPhoto and iMovie, but we'll also spend time on iWeb and iDVD, and even dip into GarageBand a bit.
The workshop takes place at Bancroft School in Walnut Creek, CA. Admission is $55 for DVMUG members and $75 for nonmembers, and lunch is included.
You can learn more and download a registration form at the DVMUG site. I hope to see you there!
Now In Progress: Polaroid Week 2008
Posted Monday, April 21, 2008
Over on Flickr, 'Roid Week 2008 has begun. It's a five-day celebration of Polaroid instant photography -- and, for those of us who have become addicted, a sad mourning for the format's apparent demise. (Polaroid has announced that it will stop making instant films over the next next year.)
Becoming smitten by low-fidelity "instant" photography in a digital age is a weird thing: you buy a $4 Polaroid Spectra at a local thrift shop, and find an expired pack of film on eBay (expired film often produces odd and unpredictable color shifts, as shown here).
Then you scan the result with a $500 scanner, touch up the dust specks with Adobe Photoshop CS3, and post the result using a $3000 computer.
Hey -- no one ever said photography had to make financial sense.
Happy 'Roid Week!
Flickr Does Video (and iLife '08 Helps)
Posted Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Originally uploaded by jimheid
What I'll add here is the iLife angle: after shooting this clip (with an aged Canon S50 point-and-shoot digital camera), I imported it into iPhoto.
Next, I switched to iMovie '08 and started a new project. I used the Event browser in iMovie '08 to add this movie to the project. Next, I used iMovie's Audio Adjustments panel to normalize the audio, boosting its volume.
Finally, I added a couple of titles. I exported the movie (Share > Export Movie), then uploaded it to Flickr.
Memo to Apple: I'm ready for an iMovie '08 update that allows for direct uploading to Flickr.
Speaking of Flickr and iLife: I'll be talking about both in San Francisco this Friday in a talk at the main Apple Store on Stockton Street. The fun starts at 6 pm -- come and join!
Made You Look: Adobe Photoshop Express
Posted Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Adobe has launched a public beta of Photoshop Express, an impressive on-line photo-editing and sharing site.
I just spent a few minutes tinkering, and it looks cool. From an editing standpoint, there's nothing here that iPhoto '08 can't do and that the new Photoshop Elements 6 can't do even better. But for the social networker -- the Facebook addict, the Flickr junkie (support is forthcoming) who isn't obsessed about having every image-editing tool in the toolbox, Photoshop Express looks great.
And it's an impressive example of the kinds of Web applications that crystal ballers say are a big part of the software industry's future.
Macworld.com has more.
Labels: adobe, photoshop express
Search by Rating in iTunes 7.6
Posted Thursday, March 13, 2008
Nice tip from Rob Griffiths:
If you make extensive use of iTunes' ability to rate songs, then you'll appreciate this little but useful tidbit regarding iTunes 7.6. New in this release -- to the best of my knowledge -- is the ability to search for star ratings using the built-in search box. Using it is about as simple as can be: click into the search box, and type one asterisk for each star value. To find all three-star-rated songs, you'd just enter ***, two stars would be two asterisks, etc. You can also combine asterisks and other values, so Beatles *** would find any music that contains the word Beatles and is rated at least three stars.
Read it all.
Attention Flickr Addicts: New Version of FlickrExport Plugin for iPhoto
Posted Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Fraser Spears has made available a pre-release version of FlickrExport 3, the latest version of the iPhoto plug-in that I use to upload my photos to Flickr.
One significant enhancement in the new version is the ability to submit a photo to multiple Flickr groups in one fell swoop -- a huge timesaver. (But remember, Flickr friends, submitting to more than eight or 10 groups is considered bad form.)
FlickrExport 3 also supports geotagging in several cool ways. A pre-release version for Apple's Aperture is also available.
Labels: flickr, flickrexport, ilife imovie iphoto imoviehd
Apple Extends iPhoto Discounts Until March 7
Posted Monday, March 03, 2008
As Macworld reports, Apple has extended its 20 percent discount on iPhoto books and calendars until March 7.
I can vouch for the "issues" with the online ordering system. Mr. Procrastinator tried to order a calendar on February 29, only to receive error message after error message. Finally, he omitted the coupon code and had success -- and ended up paying an extra $4USD for his calendar.
Grrrr.
