DigMo! » Software

Safari Gets Inquisitive

DigMo — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:16:27 +0000

I have always been a bit of a Firefox fan but with the release of Safari 4 including top sites, cover flow style history and synchronised MobileMe bookmarks Apple’s Safari is providing a worthy challenge. One aspect of Safari that bugs me a little is the search lock in to Google. There is no questioning Google’s reign on search but user choice is just as important.

I mentioned this issue on Twitter and a massive thanks to both @dfinney and @jakerussell who both suggested I look at the Inquisitor application. To be as upfront as possible it should be noted that Inquisitor has strong Yahoo links in that they appear to own it. That said the application offers a wide range of user selectable search engines and the ability to add your own.

Installing Inquisitor is simple, download the package (only 1.2megs) and the install process commences on completion. Quit Safari and click through the install process, note, you will have to enter your password to complete the installation.
Once installed re-load Safari and view the preferences (File menu then preferences). You will notice that a new icon has appeared along the top row entitled ‘Search’ click this to set up Inquisitor.

Inquisitor has highly customisable. You can select the default search engine with full region support, in the example below we have opted for Yahoo UK but this could have easily have been Google UK, or even Yahoo Sweden.

The application comes with the ’send anonymous information to Yahoo’ option ticked, I un-clicked this but really it is up to you what information you share.

Click the ‘Display links to additional search engines’ option allows you to add your own specific search options. The application comes set up with Amazon and Flickr that can be easily added but it also allows you to add your own custom searches.

For example you can click edit sites and add DigMo! to list. Enter the name DigMo! and the search address http://www.digmo.co.uk/?s=%@ this will then add DigMo! as a search option on the drop down.

I did note that word associates appears in the default Amazon search option so you might want to change this to the generic Amazon search. Once complete close the preferences window and go back to Safari.

Type your search phrase into the Safari Search box and Inquisitor will present you with a few search results and a number of different options. You can see from the screen shot the addition of both Flickr and DigMo! in the additional search options.

I think with a few more days of adding custom searches Inquisitor is going to speed up the way I search for information on the main search engines as well as my favourite blogging and shopping sites.

For more information and to download inquisitor for free click here.

Inquisitor for iPhone

Inquisitor is also available for free via the iTunes Apps Store. The iPhone version offers some of the capabilities of the desktop with live news searching to boot.

The Inquisitor for iPhone settings are under the main settings icon on the phone and you set the locality setting (as it comes defaulting to the US) to get the best from the App.

Click here to get the free iPhone version.

Tweetie Love

DigMo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:18:23 +0000

DigMo! is celebrating our Twitter birthday this week and quite honestly it would be fair to say we have a bit of Twitter addiction going on. Looking back we’ve had more Twitter Apps than hot breakfasts (literally) but a few months ago we found the holy grail of Twitter Apps in the form of Tweetie for both the iPhone and Mac desktop. We counted down the hours on release day for this application and we weren’t disappointed.

Tweetie offers a really simple to use Twitter client offering multiple accounts, saved searches, advanced notifications and one of the best graphical user interfaces around. Threaded Direct Messages, easy photo support and the ability to open links in the background make Tweetie our ‘must have’ Twitter application for Mac.

Tweetie is available under two payment models. Firstly you can use the application for free with ad support, the ads appear in the tweet stream and generally don’t interfere with the user experience, actually it was only after a few hours of use I even spotted an ad. The second is to pay around £14 to enable the ability to remove the ads (see 11).

The aim of this post is to outline the main Tweetie features and demonstrate just how simple the application is to use and how remarkably fully featured it is for such a simple bit of software.

1. Main account list
Tweetie supports multiple accounts and uses your Twitter avatar to represent each account on the list. Click on the avatar to reveal the twitter stream for that account.

2. @ Replies
These are your replies, retweets and basically any other time someone mentions your Twitter username. A blue dot will appear beside the @ sign to indicate new @replies but you can also configure Tweetie to change the dock icon and toolbar icon when new @ replies arrive.

When it comes to notifications Tweetie has covered it all. Menu bar, Dock and even Growl notifications and Tweetie gives you full control over what changes it tells you about.

The notification settings can also be different between Twitter accounts, so you can have Tweetie notify you of all changes to your main account and say only direct messages of an other.

3. Direct Messages
Direct messages are the private messages you receive from one of your followers. Unlike any other Twitter application we have used Tweetie displays direct messages as threaded conversations.

This is a really useful feature as quite often direct message conversations can happen over many days with long intervals between responses. Like @replies a blue dot appears when you have new direct messages waiting.

4. Search
As well as offering the ability to search Twitter, Tweetie offers a few advanced search features. Clicking the search symbol lists the current Twitter trends, click on a trend (for example today Jeff Goldblum is a trending topic) to reveal the related tweets.

Tweetie also offers saved searches. Saved searches are listed with the number of search results, this is particularly useful if you have a topic of interest for example a the mention of your website. You can see instantly if there are any new mentions since your last view.

5. New Tweet
This is where you enter a new tweet and the same window is used when replying to other tweets. The tweet window offers a counter that lets you know the number of characters you have left. Unfortunately there isn’t an easy way of replying to more then one recipient yet.

6. Account dropdown
If you have more than one account in your Tweetie install you can decide which account your are tweeting from using the drop down. Tweetie defaults to the first account on the list. If you want to change the order of accounts both in the main window and in this drop down open the application preferences, click on accounts and drag the Twitter usernames around to change the order.

7. Options
The options drop down offers three key functions, the ability to Shorten URLs, Add Image, and record video. With only 140 characters to play with the ability to shorten URL (web addresses) down is essential. Paste a web address into a tweet, click the shorten url option and Tweetie does the rest. You can change the URL shortening service and photo hosting service within the preferences window.

8. Retweet options
Most people find they want to ‘retweet’ or ‘repost’ a tweet they have read in the Twitter feed. Tweetie allows you do repost a tweet by right clicking on it in the main window. Some people prefer the RT @digmo option while others prefer to have a (via @digmo) at the end. Tweetie allows you to decide which notation suits you best. As you can see in the screenshot as well as re-tweeting you can reply, direct message and even mark the tweet as a favourite.

9. Dim Previously Selected Tweets
If you follow a large number of users it can be confusing when the tweets come flooding in. Tweetie offers an attempt to make this more manageable by dimming previously viewed tweets. I use this feature a lot and I tend to leave the scroll bar at the last read tweet so I can skim through recent tweets. If you want to ignore missed tweets Tweetie has the option of keeping the scroll bar at the top thus only showing the most recent tweets.

10. Open Links in Background
There is nothing more annoying than clicking a link and have your web browser appearing in front of the application you were using. Tweetie allows links to be opened in the background which is particularly useful if you are scrolling down a large list of tweets and clicking a number of links.

Activating this option means each link opens in your browser (in a new tab). I tend to go through the tweets, click on a number of links and then peruse the opened sites in the browser. This has the added advantage that all sites have fully loaded by the time I go to view them.

11. Remove Ads
This option is obviously only available if you have paid for a license and entered your license code into Tweetie (File menu).

If you haven’t tried Tweetie yet then you are really missing out on one of the best Twitter applications we have used. You can download the free version of Tweetie from the Atebits website.

A Guitarist’s Dream

DigMo — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:54:25 +0000

Garageband is one of those Apple applications that I appreciate massively. It isn’t the fact that it is one of the most powerful and easy to use podcast creators or audio editors but the appreciation comes for its power as a multitrack recorder. Having played in numerous bands growing up I am no stranger to multitrack tape recorders, I frankly hated them.

Nothing ever really sounded as it should and the recording process was an utter nightmare. I so envy the guitarists and musicians growing up in today’s Garageband generation. I think what I find most shocking is that Garageband comes as part of the iLife application pack and this pack costs considerably less than £100.

I am not going to mention the fact that Garageband can actually teach you both guitar or piano, I am not even going to mention how easy it makes the process of recording podcasts the I love Garageband statement is simply for the software’s functionality for any guitarist.

Garageband 09 takes the great multitrack recording features and adds a range of software based guitar processor systems. The big benefit is the effects are controllable from within the Garageband interface and can even be tweaked in post production.

If you are used to the classic stomp box and amp set up then using your guitar with Garageband is going to be a breeze. Firstly you will need an audio interface (USB) to connect your instrument to the computer. I recommend the Native Instrument Guitar Rig Session device. This not only allows you to connect a guitar but you can connect other instruments and Mics in essence allowing you to record your entire band.

Once you connect your hardware you should be able to hear your guitar (or at least see the audio meters jumping up and down as your hit the strings). If you don’t, click Edit or double-click the amp, then choose the input from the Input Source pop-up menu.

If your guitar is connected to your computer with an adapter cable, choose Line In. If your guitar is plugged into an audio interface connected to your computer, choose the correct mono channel from the list.

To hear your guitar as you play and protect against feedback, choose “On” or “On with Feedback Protection” from the Monitor pop-up menu. “On with Feedback Protection” lets you hear your guitar as you play, but warns you if feedback occurs.

Garageband 09 comes with around 40 preset sounds but you can also easily create your own using the drag and drop stomp boxes.

You can see in the image above I have a number of stomp boxes in a chain connected to the main amp. The image shows the back of the amp as I double clicked it to change the input setting. Garageband allows 5 stomp boxes in a chain and you can drag and drop to alter the order. You can add or remove boxes from a great selection of pedals.

Double clicking on an amp or stomp box brings up a larger image of the pedal on which you can adjust the various controls.

You can take one of the Garageband preset sounds, double click on a stomp box and make adjustments and then save it as your own with just a few clicks. It is actually surprising the range of custom settings each pedal offers and given the range of amps virtually every guitar sound is easily achievable.

Once you have created your very own custom tone you can now use Garangeband’s multitrack recording and editing to record your songs. I am pretty sure you could record a professional sounding output using Garageband.

When you consider iLife costs just £59 (click here) and offers not only Garageband but iMovie, iDVD, iPhone and iWeb I really consider it to be one of the biggest software bargains going.

If like me you are facing a midlife crisis and want to revisit your guitar slaying youth then Garageband offers a low cost system that not only provides you with every guitar pedal you ever dreamt about but also allows you to record into the bargain. What more could you want ?

Guitar Hero Aerosmith

DigMo — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:48:49 +0000

I’m definitely no stranger to connecting a guitar to a Mac for some Garageband recording but Aspyr software have come up with a guitar system that completely transforms my playing to a whole new level.

We have been fans of the Guitar Hero & Rockband games for a while but finally they have arrived for the UK Mac market in harmony with one of the biggest rock bands of the last thirty years.

If the haven’t yet discovered the Guitar Hero game you have really been missing out. The guitar hardware features four coloured buttons, a whammy bar and strumming/picking leaver. Initially you may think (as I did) “how hard can it be, there are only five buttons” but believe me it is a challenge.

Before reaching my guitar legend status I will actually confess to playing it on ‘easy’ mode at the start which only uses 3 of the 5 buttons and I still struggled.

Installation
Installing the Guitar Hero game on your Mac is simple. The game comes on two DVD discs. The first is the Mac Install disc, insert this into your Mac first and drag the game into the Applications folder (just over 5GB).

Once copied insert the second disc to play. The play disc is needed each time you want to play the game.

This is not just the standard Guitar Hero game with dedicated Aerosmith tracks the band on screen are computer generated character versions of Steve Tyler and company which works really really well.

The graphics are stunning although you only ever see them when others are playing the game due to the level of concentration required.

You can play the game in quick mode and multiplayer over the internet but the best mode in my mind is to follow the Aerosmith Career mode. Career mode even features video interviews from the band.

With career mode you track the band from their first T-Shirt stealing high school gig through to the big stadiums. The initial songs feature (obviously) early Aerosmith tracks as well covers of the likes of legends Cheap Trick.

What I like about this mode is you really progress in the same way as the band developed. In other words as you get better at the game the stadiums get bigger and the more of the big hits are unlocked.

I hadn’t really considered the level of concentration needed for Guitar Hero but I don’t think I blinked very much during any of the songs.

As well as the buttons the guitar features a ‘Star’ mode. Instead of a circle on the fret the indicator is a star, shake or tilt the guitar quickly to activate ‘Star Mode’. Star mode in an adrenaline boost, the crowd goes wild, the guitar gets louder and I tell you your heart beats even faster.

It is a hard game to walk away from, the just “one more song” feeling is definitely strong especially with the hope of unlocking the bigger titles.

Guitar Hero is an ideal game for a group of friends to play together and attempt to outdo each other. Failing a guitar hero performance will not only earn you the abuse from your friends but the audience on the Mac are pretty quick to tell you what they think.

A number of DigMo! readers run the Mac Mini as a media centre style living room system. Guitar Hero would be a perfect game for such a setup. (check min specs). A living room style setup is perfect for a game like Guitar Hero where you can involve the whole family.

If you don’t run a living room system the good news the game looks just as stunning on a 20″ and 24″ screen than it does on a TV.

XBox 360 users may like to know that the USB guitar for the Xbox game (this is the version we have) will work perfectly with the Mac version of the games so need to purchase additional hardware.

It should also be noted that Guitar Hero Aerosmith is not an add-on pack so therefore will work even if you don’t have the original Guitar Hero game.

If you are even the remotest fan of Aerosmith this game revolutionised your air guitar experiences to a whole new level. At less than £20 (if you already have the guitar) this is definitely one of the gaming bargains of the year.

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★

Buy Now.

Features

More than 40 playable songs
Shred 25 of Aerosmith’s master tracks
Play as virtual versions of Joe Perry (guitar), Brad Whitford (guitar), or Tom Hamilton (bass), along with vocalist Steven Tyler and drummer Joey Kramer, and experience Aerosmith’s rise to fame through venues from historical moments during the band’s illustrious career
Perform songs from musical legends such as Lenny Kravitz, Run DMCand Stone Temple Pilots
Rock out offline or shred with friends via the Internet
Stand-alone game does not require the original Guitar Hero III game to play

DivX 7 For Mac Released

DigMo — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:02:56 +0000

DivX have now released a free version of their pouplar code for Mac. DivX® 7 for Mac is a free download that provides everything you need to enjoy high-quality digital videos on your computer, including high definition H.264 (.mkv) videos with AAC audio and videos created using all previous versions of DivX technology.

You can also play your DivX files (.divx, .avi) on millions of DivX Certified® devices today. Look for DivX Plus™ HD Certified devices soon that will support playback of all DivX and DivX Plus HD files, as well as .mkv (H.264/AAC) videos from the Internet.

The free DivX for Mac download includes trial versions of the DivX Pro Codec (6-month trial) and DivX Converter (15-day trial). Purchase DivX Pro 7 for Mac for £13.99 to get full versions of DivX Pro Codec and DivX Converter.

Fear not though as the free player will continue to function even after the Pro Codec trial expires.

DivX 7 has a semi transparent interface and looks great on the Mac Desktop.

Other highlights include the ability to play your HD H.264 (.mkv) videos in DivX Player, Take your DivX videos from your computer to your TV or mobile phone, Use DivX Converter to create DivX videos in one easy step (Full version available in DivX Pro)

Download the free version here.

Personal Finance for OSX

DigMo — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:16:07 +0000

Having switched to Mac about four years ago the only application I miss on Windows is Microsoft Money. I spent years entering transactions, tracking investments and sticking to budgets and at times it really was money saver and eye opener into the abyss that were my accounts.

Since I have pretty much given up on finding the perfect personal finance application for OS X and had reverted to using an old fashioned spreadsheet. The good news is personal finance applications, perhaps inspired by the global credit crisis have taken a leap in improvements. Here are my top four picks of what is currently available for OSX (In no specific order).

Squirrel (Beta)
Squirrel is a basic accounts package yet manages to pack in the essential features I am looking for in a personal finance application. It can import all the major statement file type and features tags and categories. The big winner for me is the ability to handle scheduled transactions and budgets thus offering the ability to model and plan your finances.

The application is visually attractive and the budget categories are graphical showing your spending over the month. My only main negative is you are unable to enter directly into the screen ledger, instead a data entry box appears at the bottom of the application. This is not a big issue but I did find myself double clicking on the entry in error on a few occasions (see below). The reviewed version is 0.7 with 1.0 being the final release version.

A big plus is the (currently) free iPhone application that allows you to easily sync transactions with the desktop application. It should be noted that you will need a licensed version of the application to enable access to the sync options.

Squirrel is a promising application that is currently in the process of development and testing thus it only £13.50 during the development process. [Link to Application website].

Cha-Ching 2.0 (Beta)
I first looked at Cha-Ching last year when it was in beta for version 1. They have now released a beta for version 2 that offers syncing over wifi with an iPhone application. Ch-Ching is a really nice application visually and is very easy to use. Pluses include the ability to enter split transactions and a scheduling system that offers a range of different time frames for frequency. I am hoping that Cha-Ching will allow the automation of scheduled transactions and the ability to schedule transfers (between accounts) in the near future.

One area of Cha-Ching I really liked is the visual budget allowing a single page look at where you on in your budget for both income and outgoing areas. The budget works on tagged transactions which again works really well.

One aspect of the software that excites me is the ability to sync data. If you have a two people running a joint account keeping any personal finance application up to date is tricky at best. Although it would be great if the application could offer Mac syncing across a LAN the ability to run Cha-Ching on my wife’s Mac and then I can sync my transactions from via my iPhone is a very close second. The iPhone version of the application is only £1.79 available now from the Apps Store. The cost of the full application has not been announced but version 1 retailed around the $40 price mark. [Link to Application Website].

iBank
iBank is probably the more sophisticated of the applications I have been playing with over the last few days. Like the others it offers scheduling and statement import /download. iBank offers a detailed budgeting system as well as the ability to sync with an iPhone. iPhone syncing is a little different that other sync options. iBank requires a MobileMe account to syncbut the BIG benefit is you can sync your transactions when on the road.

iBank offers an automated backup service on startup (again to Mobile Me). Smart Import rules make importing a statement simple and the brilliant ‘Memorized Transactions” will come in very handy. iBank offers some great investment and portfolio features that although are a big attraction to me will probably be a big plus to many.

iBank has been around for a few years and thus has the benefit of being a well featured and reliable personal finance application. [Link to Application Website]

Money
Having the same name as the Microsoft application I used for many years on PC Jumsoft’s Money has a lot to live up to. As well as all the standard accounts features such as (account management, budgeting, data import etc) Money has a number of really nice additional features. These include the ability to create different account types and thus supports credit cards etc. It also offers the ability to create a range of professionally styled invoices which is really handy if you do any sort of home business work. The application also offers a great range of professional looking reports.

The budget options are really great offering a quick visual view of the current state of play. Money is a full featured personal finance application with the support for investments and portfolios it even offers a coverflow style view of accounts and transaction types.

Money has a number of very strong, tested and mature features. The scheduled transactions system in Money is the best of the applications we tested. As well as income and expenses Money offers the ability to schedule transfers (this is a biggy for me !!) better still the application will automatically add the scheduled transaction to your account on the day it is due. Adding transactions to Money is quick and easy and the app picks up categories from the first few letters, and ignores captilisation (which is very useful in avoiding category duplication eg category 1 and Category !).

The Reporting and Budgeting systems in Money are completely customisable, and really easy to use you are basically able to get any information from the system with a bit of tweaking of a report. The visual budget is fantastic! and can show a range of timeframes including, Weekly, Month, Year, Month to date etc.

One great aspect of Money is the “Smart Account” system that allows a number of criteria to be applied to transactions with the output appearing in account form. This is particularly useful for tax return time. Money 3 offers remote backup to MobileMe, given how crucial accounting software can be an automated backup is a life safer at times. Money also offers the ability to password protect individual accounts within the application.

The latest version allows great customisation of invoice design, and general UI improvements. Money is a solid reliable application that offers support for all types of account (Current, Loan and Credit cards) as well as tracking investment and multi-current support.

The only negative I have for money is the lack of iPhone sync support. [Update : Jumsoft are currently developing a portable app for Money] Money is a well developed extensive application that covers all areas of home finance as well a few business style features (such as invoicing). [Link to Application Site].

Conclusion

The most important issue (for me) in a personal finance application is the ability to monitor my situation and predict problems or overspending within particular budgets. This year we have been adding our transactions to a spreadsheet and using this to build a budget. The solution works but is time consuming and doesn’t offer the visual aspects of a dedicated application nor the ability to create quick reports.

We have tried a number of personal finance applications since switching from PC to Mac and to date most of them lacked the essential functionality we need despite having a number of really great features.

Some of you might have raced to the last paragraph to see what application I rate as the over all best. The bottom line is we have selected five applications each of which suit our needs and offer a full personal finance management solution and from this point the final choice is personal preference. Both Cha-Ching and Squirrel are still in Beta and look very promising but if you offer any sort of service that requires invoicing then it is hard to go past Jumsoft’s Money 3.

I am planning to continue with the trial versions for a few more weeks, with the vast improvements demonstrated in Cha-Ching 2 (Beta), the new application on the block ‘Squirrel’ (beta) the future of personal finance applications for OSX is definitely looking very promising.

Civilization IV Gold

DigMo — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:27:15 +0000

Gaming has improved significantly for Mac thanks for companies like Aspyr. Last year we reviewed Call of Duty 4 for Mac that dominated the first person shooter market for most of the year, now it is the turn of the strategy game to invade Leopard.

I have always been a massive fan of world domination but to date it has been reserved to the screen of my computer. Command and Conquer, Civilization etc offer King like leadership from your very own desk. I have been playing Civilization IV Gold (Warlords) for the last four days and I am hooked !

I have to confess the first couple of games lasted little more than an hour due to my ability to pick a War with a nation in cahoots with the two most powerful leaders on the map. Now though, I am an expert leader, well actually more of a dictator who razes every city he invades and loves it
.

My current battle / game has lasted over five hours. Civilization is the first game that has gripped me for such prolonged periods of time for a single game. Games like C&C Generals offer the ability to play a skirmish for an hour for a quick fix, Civilization though is a longer term investment. I must say I am not playing for 4-5 hours solid (although I could), I have disciplined myself to a couple of hours then save the game for later.

You start your ruling live with a warrior and settler who enable you to build your first city. From cities you gain workers who farm, mine, and build on your behalf. While all this is going on, as ruler you decide on your areas of research such as electricity, rockets, medicine and religion. As each research completes so does the strength of your empire. As you discover other empires on the world map you can trade their research and resources for your own, grow relationships and defense agreements and then ultimately go to war.

The playing interface is brilliant, using the small ball on the mighty mouse enables you to zoom in and out of the work from a satellite style view right down to an almost a street level camera. It works a little like Google maps, it is only when you zoom out of your dominated area that you actually see the sheer vastness of the game and the size of your enemy.

The game also moves between eras really well, warriors turn to riflemen that turn to Navy Seals. Last night I was excited to have researched computers and even invented the internet which was a long way from inventing farming a few hours earlier.

It is gripping, and difficult to walk away from. I have discovered I am a particularly underhanded and dirty leader especially in my negotiations. I often found my way to force nations to go to war on my behalf in exchange for the latest technology, then when at their weakest I waged war on them both. A sly but most enjoyable past time I have to say.

As the years develop and you research more technology the weapons also improve. In my current scenario I have dozens of bomber jets and choppers talking out particularly less developed worlds. It is cruel but I love it.

As the game develops over a few hours the length of each ‘turn’ increases. This can be a little frustrating at time but I discovered you can speed this up by holding down “Shift and Enter” I would also advise you to be as ruthless as possible, the default game doesn’t continue until everyone is dead there is a set number of game plays. The number of remaining turns is displayed on screen (once you get to the last 100 turns). That said you will have many hours of play before the countdown begins.

One aspect I did find a little tricky was getting into the options to change the graphic level. This game looks good the first time it runs but it doesn’t seem to look at the specification of the computer and throws up a default graphics level. Once you find your way into the options and crank the graphics up a little the games looks stunning. There are times there is so much going on on screen you expect the mac to burst into flames !

Civilization is a great educational game. I know a number of colleagues who are massive advocates of computer gaming in education. I have always had my doubts on this, although this is more down to me seeing first person shooters or Grand Theft Auto in my head when the issue is raised. Civilization on the other hand is challenge worthy of any ten year old. My own is currently trying the game out brokering his first trade agreement swapping rice for sheep and gold, a deal he is particularly proud of.

Multiplayer Action
A multiplayer option over the internet and LAN is also available and again the games can be saved to avoid having to play for long durations. Multiplayer action is a little slower, especially if the other human forgets to hit enter (to complete their go). We started one game with two macs and two AI leaders and after an hour hadn’t progressed past a few cities. It is refreshing to have a game you can come back to that builds over time. Lets face it for any strategy to be tested properly a game really shouldn’t be over in an hour ! This one will last weeks. [I will report the winner via twitter, current levels 285 AI, 245 Me (Winston Churchill), 267 10 year old].

If you like strategy games then you will love Civilization IV. It look me a little bit of time to get to grips with the goings on of religion, anarchy etc but after one or two games I was an expert ruler. The Gold Edition offers both Civilization IV and the Warlords expansion pack on one disk. and is released on 23rd April and retails at 29.99.

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★

Links:
Pre-Order Civilization IV Gold Edition
Official Site

Key Features:

Faster-Paced Fun – Gameplay has been streamlined for a tighter, faster, and more compelling experience.
Greater Accessibility and Ease of Play – An easy-to-use interface will be immediately familiar to RTS and action game players, and newcomers to the series will be able to jump in and play.
Tech Tree – Flexible Tech tree allows players more strategic choices for developing their civilizations along unique paths.
Grow Bigger Empires – More Civilizations, Units, and Improvements to enhance and grow your empire.
Multiplayer – LAN, Internet, and Play-By-Email offer players all-new strategies and ways to play when competing or cooperating with live opponents.
Team Play – Whether playing multiplayer or single player, team play offers a new way of setting locked alliances that result in shared wonder effects, visibility, unit trading, and shared territory that delivers a plethora of new strategic and tactical options.
Beautiful 3D World – Sid Meier’s Civilization IV comes to life with a beautiful 3D world, dozens of fully animated units (including culturally unique units), and totally customizable armies. Cities and wonders will appear on the map. Wonder movies are back!
Mods and Community Tools – Designed from the ground up for modability, the game contains a powerful map editor with XML and Python support.
Choose Your Leader – Most Civilizations now have two leaders from which to choose, with each Leader having traits that provide various bonuses to the player.
Civics – With the discovery of new techs, civic options can become available. Freedom of speech or slavery? Hereditary rule or open elections? This creates endless government choices and possibilities!
Religion – Now there are seven religions in the game that are unlocked through researching. When unlocked, the religion spreads through a player’s empire allowing them to use the religion to help manage happiness, gain gold and create Great Prophets.
Great People – As the player uses specialists they gain Great People points in the city that is utilizing the specialists. Great People include the Artist, Tycoon, Prophet, Engineer, & Scientist. They can be used to get free techs, start Golden Ages, or join a city to increase its output.
Promotions – Each unit has a promotion path that emphasizes specific unit traits. Promotions include bonuses to Attack/Defend on specific terrains/features, movement bonuses, sight/visibility bonuses, and increased withdrawal chances.
In-Game Cinematics – Sid Meier’s Civilization IV has over 40 in-game cinematics.

If you are tired of shoot – em – ups and want to engage your brain in a little gaming then Aspyr’s Civilization IV (inc Warlords) is a brilliant game that offers hours and hours of challenge and fun for the money. The Gold Edition is released on 23rd April and retails at 29.99.

Links:

Pre-Order Civilization IV Gold Edition
Official Site

Turbo.264 HD Review

DigMo — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:12:35 +0000

High Definition video has pretty much reached the domestic market. The arrival of AVCHD has seen the firewire ports flounder on some Apple computers and SD card storage capacities boom with 16GB being the norm.

Also this year both Vimeo and YouTube rolled out their High Definition services and the affordability of HD cameras is meaning SD is becoming seconds class to its High Definition rival.

We recently reviewed the brilliant Panasonic HDC-SD100 (Review Link) offering at the higher end of the domestic market but HD doesn’t have to be expensive with a FlipVideo HD camera expected in the UK next month at just over £100.

High Definition video puts higher demand on our hardware and brings with it a different way to import and manage footage. Regular DigMo! readers will already know we love the standard Elgato Turbo.264 (Review Link) USB hardware encoder and we are excited to get our hands on the newly upgraded Elgato Turbo.264 HD.

If you have the Turbo.264 you will be pretty familiar with the software that comes with it. On the surface little has changed but behind the scenes the software offers a mass of hidden new and upgraded features. If you want to see photos of the device and packaging head over to the DigMo! Flickr account otherwise read on as we put the hardware through its paces.

I will start by looking at the software thats ships with the device and then test the performance of the hardware towards the end of the article..

Elgato Turbo.264 HD Software:

The main software interface hasn’t changed with the HD release. The dial on the top right of the software displays red on startup and turns to black (with the max dial) with the Turbo.264 is connected to a USB port on your Mac.

To convert a video, simply drag it into the ‘Drag video files here.’, select the format you want the video to use (see later) and click the start button.

If you connect an AVCHD camcorder to your Mac an additional button appears on the main window entitled ‘Add Camcorder’ (see the screenshot above). This is the point when updated software really offers a massive advantage. Importing AVCHD footage using iMovie and Final Cut although faster than traditional firewire video importing still takes a fair bit of time. The Turbo.264 software quickly lists and indexes the AVCHD footage with a first frame thumbnail :

As you will see in the screenshot above you have the option of either importing (and converting) the footage as a single movie or, if you pull the slider to the left as individual movies. In this example I have 33 clips on my SD card but this will obviously change as the amount of video on the card changes.

The ability to import multiple clips is very useful if you need to quickly turn around a video and only need a section of the footage recorded or alternatively, if you are like me and forget to delete previously imported footage from the camera before starting the next shoot.

Double click on a video clip to watch a preview,

Like Elgato’s EyeTv software the Turbo.264 software allows you to trim and edit footage before it is imported. Click the middle button to display in and out tabs on the video line. (Check out our tutorial on how this works in the EyeTV application).

In the reality of most domestic setups this level of editing is all most users need to remove ‘dud’ footage from clips. It is easy to quickly trim a video to the essential clip and click done to go back to the export options. In this case I have opted for exporting the 30 second clip at 1080p. This took around 1 min.

In this case I exported at 1080p but the software offers a great range of presets and also hosts the ability to customise these to your own particular requirements. The user has full control over the video and audio and there are even options for Dolby sound.

As well as local file formats the software also offers support for both the YouTube and YouTube HD video sharing services. I’d love to see support on application for the upcoming sharing site Vimeo but no doubt as more of use the service these will come in time.

Performance

Anyone who is thinking of buying the Elgato Turbo.264 HD is going to be primarily interested in performance. The great plus of this hardware is that it offers acceleration to not only the application that it ships with but other applications such as iMovie, Final Cut and Elgato’s own EyeTV software.

The Test:
I opted to export a 3 minute and 28 second clip from a TV programme I recorded on EyeTV recently. The first stage of the test was to export the clip in AppleTV format without the Turbo.264HD connected. I am using a standard 2.8GHZ 24″iMac.

The final time for export to AppleTV : 3 mins and 8 seconds. I then connected the Turbo.264 and re-ran the export. I felt if the Turbo.264 HD was able to convert the video in under 2 minutes it was a definite winner, the results were spectacular :

The Turbo.264 converted the same clip in well under my predicted two minutes and actually converted it in less of a third the time : 1 minute in total. I repeated both conversions twice with similar results.

I think this is particularly impressive. As most of my daily conversion isn’t actually HD and involves the EyeTV software the Turbo.264 accelerator offers a massive advantage to this particular work flow.

Conclusion

I really can’t be more positive about this device. Computing has become more and more media centric and the ability to quickly edit and convert video is now almost essential. If you own a TV device with the EyeTv 3 software then this device is verging on essential.

If you convert on a regular basis whether for video podcasts, family video or even professionally I would highly recommend the hardware acceleration this device offers. The fact I was able to export the same click in less than one third the time with the Turbo.264 makes it a complete no brainer for my set up. The only negative is that the increased resolution of HD seems to have brought with it an increase in price. The Turbo.264 costs £139.95 but it offers considerable advantage especially if you are an AVCHD camcorder owner ! Check out our easy to follow video tutorial on how to use the Turbo.264 HD with an AVCHD camcorder, click here.

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★★

Turbo 264 HD 1080p Video Encoder/Accelerator

Links: Elgato.com

MacHeist 09

DigMo — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:27:25 +0000

After nearly a year in the making, the MacHeist Bundle is finally back, and it’s bigger, and better than before.

This year’s bundle features a core lineup of a dozen award winning and popular apps, games and utilities that represent the cream of the crop from the Mac development community.

Personally I am already enjoying the brilliant EventBox social networking application that is currently allowing me to manage Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and even RSS. The paid for apps have something for everyone, games, 3D applications, and more all for just $39.

One noticeable addition is the BoinxTV application at $199. This is the sponsored version of the live video editing application where users must add a ‘Made my’ title at the end of each piece but has all the features of the Pro version. This is a brilliant application and the more MacHeist purchases there are the more chance it will make it as part of the package for $39 !

MacHeist is also donating 25% of each bundle purchase to a partnering charity of the customer’s choice. To date, MacHeist customers have raised over $700,000 for philanthropic efforts around the world and this year is no different.

The Heist List :

iSale
Picturesque
Sous Chef
World of Goo
PhoneView
LittleSnapper (Review Here).
Acorn
Kinemac

Still to be Unlocked :
WireTap Studio
BoinxTV Sponsored Edition
The Hit List
Espresso

I’ve just purchased my Heist and I am still using applications from last years ! Get the full package while you can over at the MacHeist site.

Keynote for the Cloud

DigMo — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:22:02 +0000

Anyone who has played with 280 Slides for even a few hours will realise it marks a milestone in the concept of web applications. There is no doubt the buzz for 2009 is cloud computing, the idea of a applications and documents being held securely on the internet accessible from any computer is dramatically changing not only how we work but also how we buy software.

Services such as Google Apps have allowed us to create documents and share them online and now 280 Slides takes it to the next level bringing a free, fully featured PowerPoint / Keynote web app to the cloud.

Many people we talk to are nervous about making the leap from desktop application to their web equivalent. Generally their concerns are over security but there is also an impression that webapps are very basic stripped down versions of the full application. 280 Slides shatters this perception.

The application is surprisingly feature rich and offers multiple text layers (and the ability to move layers back and forward), the ability to add images, video and shapes. In addition, multiple ‘undos’ and auto saving have also been thrown in, the system can even handle adjusting item opacity, that is how good it is!

As well as being able to upload your own media 280 slides will allow you to add media from popular sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube.

Despite a real Apple feel and look, to date 280 Slides is only able to export to PowerPoint (as well as PDF). You can also upload your existing PowerPoint presentation so you’ll never need to start from scratch. This is ideal if you want to present your legacy presentations to a wider audience.

If you have all your presentations in Apple’s Keynote format, don’t panic, remember you can easily export them to PowerPoint 2007 format from within the Keynote application. (Export in Keynote 08 and the Share menu in Keynote 09).

Obviously there are tools and capabilities that both Keynote and PowerPoint offer that 280 Slides is unable to support but if I was to list the 5 essential tools I need in making presentations (with the exception of transitions) they are all certainly there and more in this single web application.

As well as being able to export to PowerPoint you can also email your creation (again as a PowerPoint), embed your presentation on a website or for the really daring mobile warrior you can even present your show live from any web browser. Presentations can also be exported to the popular SlideShare service.

Check out a 280 Slides presentation I have shared with DigMo! readers (click here).

From an education point of view 280 Slides offers a brilliant and remarkably easy to use solution for creating presentations. It was remarkable how fast the system actually is, I really felt I was working on a desktop application throughout my demo. How it would be great to test how reliable it would work if a class of 30 computers were all using it through a single internet connection though. I am still slightly nervous in relying in my work being there when I need it when using online services but I am sure confidence in web apps will grow the more they are used.

280 Slides is an exciting development both as a self contained online PowerPoint maker but also as a glimpse of how mobile / Cloud computing is set to evolve in the next few years.

Links

280 Slides
280 Slides Shared Presentation

iTunes DJ Hands On

DigMo — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:43:43 +0000

One of the most interesting updates to iTunes 8.1 is the addition of the iTunes DJ playlist. Currently my iTunes library contains over 4000 songs. Instead of culling the songs I don’t listen too or don’t even like over the years I have expanded my storage.

As a result I find I use the ‘Party Shuffle’ playlist while I am working to throw up songs I haven’t heard in a while. When Apple released the iTunes remote I felt I had taken a technological leap controlling my music with my phone. That leap has taken a stride further with iTunes DJ.

Basically the iTunes DJ offers any iPod Touch or iPhone user the ability to queue up songs in the playlist. Guest users can vote for songs and the song with the highest vote gets played next.

The more users with iPhones you have the more it is going to be voting for the next track, but the tool is even useful for single users.

To set up iTunes DJ, click on the playlist on the left hand menu of iTunes and then settings along the bottom right of the main iTunes window.

The following window should now appear :

You can control the automatically generated playlist as well as setup access for guest users via the iTunes remote application (available on the iTunes Apps Store). You can set a custom greeting, offer the option to allow users to vote for the next song and if you want to add a little security you can password protect the iTunes playlist. This would be useful for larger parties where only 2-3 people are granted permission to control the music.

When a user loads up the iTunes remote application on their iphone they will not only see each iTunes device on your network (AppleTV etc) they will also see the DJ playlist greeting.

It should be noted that all users need to be on your wireless network and I am not sure I would grant everyone at a party access to my broadband internet connection.

Clicking on the iTunes DJ playlist displays a list of tracks that can be queued on for playing after the current track.

Once you find the track you want to play (and select it) the iTunes remote will display the upcoming tracks together with the current vote count.

Users can add and vote for as many tracks as they like and obviously the more votes a particular song gains the faster it moves up the playlist

In this example we voted for the Pixies ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’ that can now be seen as the next track to be played.

Songs that you have personally voted for appear with a little heart icon beside them.

Back in the iTunes desktop application you can see the playlist change to reflect our Pixies vote. You will also see a bizare mix of upcoming tracks.

This is a great addition to the iTunes system and would be great in a public setting (legalities pending) where you have a larger group of users. In the domestic setting though you may think twice about opening up your network to everyone with an iPod Touch or iPhone ?

5 Steps to Moodle Success

DigMo — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:13:55 +0000

By the very fact you are reading this article you have probably already embraced Web 2.0 and the idea of embarking on running a Virtual Learning Environment isn’t going to scare too much. Virtual Learning Environments don’t excite everyone in education and nor should we expect them to.

Virtual Learning Environments are massive both in their potential and in the varied features they offer. It is important to consider all stakeholders and not all teachers (and pupils) will instantly see the benefits of such a system.

The introduction to online learning should be properly planned and paced with such changes being gradual. VLE introduction requires teacher confidence and I hope this 5 point plan enables the introduction of Moodle at a rate than creates this confidence.

I have broken down the introduction of Moodle into 5 key steps with some sub steps. Moving a traditional scheme of work to a virtual presence takes time and it may take years for some courses to confidently be using all 5 areas covered.

Download Mind Manager Map.
Download PDF.

Using the VLE as a student is an invaluable stage as it not only introduces the key features and builds confidence it also provides an appreciation of how pupils interact with the system. A course only accessible by teachers allows mistakes to be made in an environment free from pupils.

After an initial introductory session we ran a staff resource course on the VLE from Easter to June with all teachers as students. The following September the first departments opted in to running their own courses.

By the following Easter all courses were using the forums and messaging services with three also using the glossary, RSS feeds from other sites and Wikis. Two courses were running homeworks via the VLE with great success. Positive feedback of the later stages also fueled development in other courses.

Evaluation and Reports
I haven’t added the reports area as a set stage as course leaders started to use the reporting features of Moodles at different stages. Some used the reports to evaluate how popular particular resources are could drill down to see what pupils had (or hadn’t) accessed the handout.

Others were able to go as far as student reports and could chase pupils up who hadn’t accessed the course for a number of weeks.

There is definitely a link between forum use and the success of a VLE course. If a teacher is posting regular updates on the course forum (these go out as email to all students) it invited interaction from the pupils within that subject area. Replies from 1-2 pupils then encouraged other pupils to join in and respond.

One idea was “XXXXXX in the news” a weekly post on that course in the news with links to various websites. This resulted in students replying with their own personal reading around the subject finds.

There is no debating the value of Virtual Learning Environments but their introduction in an already established teaching environment needs to be carefully thought out and planned. I hope this map is of some use and if you have any feedback or improvements I’d love to hear them ?

MobileMe Gains File Sharing

DigMo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:35:08 +0000

As well as a brand new front page Apple have updated their MobileMe service with a new file sharing utility that will especially useful for sharing files too large for email.

The file sharing service is very easy to use and comes with a number of advanced features that include time limited sharing. To share a file login to your iDisk via the www.me.com interface.

Locate the file you want to share and you will immediately spot the new ‘Share’ option.

Click the ‘Share File’ button and you will be greeted with the share options. Enter the email address of the person you want to share the file with. You can also enter an optional message.

The end user will receive an email with a link to the shared file, this email comes with the typical Apple styling. You will also now notice that the share information will now be added to the file in iDisk.

I have set the share duration for 1 day (as can be seen in the screen shot above).

With services such as Dropbox becoming more and more popular this is a welcome addition to the MobileMe service. Apple always seem to add a great update to the service just as my renewal come round again!

Click here for a Video Tutorial of how easy the service is to use.

Safari 4 Beta First Look

DigMo — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:57:37 +0000

Apple have just released a beta of Safari 4 for both Mac and PC. The beta entitled Leo offers a host of new features as well as a number of key function changes including the moving of tabs to above the address bar.

First impressions are definitely positive. The browser appears much faster and some of the new features are really actually very useful.

Top Sites

Top Sites takes the sites your visit most often and displays them as a graphical grid. A star is added to sites that appear in your bookmarks folder by way of a page peel star (see below).

This is particularly useful if you visit a number of social networking or news sites on a regular basis. You can set Top Sites to be the default view when new tabs are opened making accessing your favourite twelve sites a quick process.

History & Bookmarks Coverflow

Safari 4 really is about making the browsing experience graphical. The history and bookmarks view now offer cover flow style views for easy identification of the contents of these areas.

No longer do you have to scroll down endless lists of unrecognisable URLs instead you can view each page by rolling the mouse.

Remembering it is a Beta release I found a few sites didn’t render in this view but I suspect this will be sorted on final release.

Probably the biggest visual change is the moving of tabs from under the address bar to above it. I assume this was actually going to annoy and confuse me but in actual fact it hasn’t (in the few hours of use) bothered me that much. I actually predict the top tabs will actually be something that I view as the best change in a few months time and it would be interesting to hear what others think of this move ?

I really like the new features of Safari 4, yes some of them are not new to the browser industry but Apple have brought them all together brilliantly in this release.

The only problem I have seen so far is adding links in Wordpress 2.7 in the visual editor the page freezes and you have to close the tab but that comes with using beta software.

Links:

Apple Safari 4 Beta

Wufoo Forms for Education

DigMo — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:16:36 +0000

Every so often you come across a great online tool for use in education. Wufoo is a brilliant online form creator that allows you to gather data from colleagues and students securely.

There are a number of form and database building services around but I am yet to find one that produces output quite as nice as Wuffoo.

When you design a form with Wufoo, it automatically builds the database, backend and scripts needed to make collecting and understanding your data easy, fast and fun.

Because we host everything, all you need is a browser, an Internet connection and a few minutes to build a form and start using it right away.

There are a stack of educational applications for Wufoo, the obvious quizes / assessment, end of module evaluation forms or even school trip sign up sheets.

Forms can be linked to or embedded in the school VLE, Intranet or Internet site, this is as easy as embedding a YouTube video on a page.

There are a number of different notification services available. Email, Mobile Device via SMS or even by RSS (which is our personal favourite mode).

Using the site really couldn’t be easier. There are limits to the free account, 3 Forms, 3 Reports and 10 fields with 100 entries per month. There are a number of subscription levels and SSL Encryption is introduced at $24.95 per month level.

The graphs are a work of art :

The system also offers payment integration ideal for school trip registration and payment processing. Merchants include : PayPal, Google Checkout, Authorize.net and features, Recurring Billing (PayPal Only), Paid Status, Visual Equation Designer.

Getting started couldn’t be easier as Wufoo offer a range of both HTML form templates as well as CSS styling options.

Click or search for a template and one click adds it to your Wuffoo account for easy customisation.

The forms are visually stunning and welcoming ensuring a great enduser experience whether it be by students or fellow teachers.

Wufoo is definitely worth a look.

No Related Post

Facebook to Address Book Sync

DigMo — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:21:37 +0000

If you use Address Book in OSX you will know how powerful an application it is. You can store a stack of information about your contacts and even add custom fields to allow for even greater scalability.

If you are anything like me you don’t tend to keep the photos attached to each contact up to date (if you even use them at all).

Well Dan Auclair has come up with a handy little application that compares your Facebook contacts with the names in Address Book and gives you the option of adding the person’s profile image as the address book thumbnail.

The application gives the user full control, it displays the current image you have for the contact and their current Facebook profile photo. You can opt to sync or leave the image unchanged. This is particular useful (as I found) for contacts with the same name.

I known two John Thompsons one on Facebook and one who remains in my Address Book. I was able to tell AddressBookSync not to update this entry. This is a handy tool to keep your contacts’ pictures updated if you have numerous Facebook friends in your Mac OS X Address Book.

If your phone supports synchronization with Address Book you should be able to have your contacts’ profile pictures show up when they call you. Birthday synchronization is also available (nice for the iCal birthday calendar). If you have people on Facebook that are not in your address book.

AddressBookSync allows you to add these friends as new contacts. This is definitely a must have application for any Mac user on Facebook! The application could not be easier to use. Download, run, login to Facebook and it takes you through the rest. The current version is 1.2 and is completely free. Click here to download.

TubeStick Mini Review

DigMo — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:50:45 +0000

When it comes down to watching and recording TV on a computer Apple definitely have some of the best of systems available. Previously we have covered the great Elgato range of tuners that ship with their EyeTV application and and although they may appear to dominate the market they aren’t the only great TV solution available.

Equinux produce the tiny and brilliantly named ‘TubeStick Mini’ coupled with their “The Tube” software. The first advantage to many users is that TubeStick is compatible with both Mac and PC computers and has to be one of the cheapest TV adaptors around coming in at only £30 (including software).

The Tubestick mini is definitely ultra portable. The mini USB device comes with a small digital antenna and an adaptor to allow it to be easy connected to an external aerial system.

Setting the system up is completely painless. Insert the supplied CD and the installer application talks you through the very easy to follow process.

Once installation is complete you are met with the varied features of ‘The Tube’ software. The Tube offers a really great user interface and despite its simplicity offers a powerful set of features including my favourite, the ability to stream TV to friends via iChat using iChat theatre.

As the software supports a wide range of TV adaptors you are asked to select the device you want to use when the software loads. On first run the device searches the digital TV channels (based on the postcode you enter). This can take a few minutes to complete and longer if you opt for an exhaustive scan. Click here for a list of compatible devices.

Before watching any TV I decided to have a play in the preferences pane and discovered a surprisingly wide range of features. Just one of the great features is the ability to set TV reminders via iCal of upcoming (selected) programmes.

In addition the TubeToGo features are stunning. This service (secured via your own personal EquinuxId) allow you to remote scedule recordings via the EPG, access your recorded TV while on the move (as well as the ability to delete remote recordings) and publish your recordings to your online storage. Access can be via the web, iPod Touch and iPhone. It is even more surprising to find that such high end features are actually completely free of charge!

A second free service (again via your EqinuxID) is TubeTalk. With TubeTalk, you can join a chat about the current TV show and chat with other TV viewers. Discuss the ins and outs of your favorite shows and more. The Tube provides a chat room for every TV channel in your list. All you need is your equinux ID and you’re all set to chat.

All the standard TV software features are also included (and shouldn’t be ignored). The software obviously allows you to record, schedule recordings and Timeshift TV. Time shifting allows you to pause and rewind live TV and is great if you need to take a telephone call midway through a football match, or want to replay the action whenever you want. With Time Shift you don’t miss a second.

The main TV interface is brilliant as is the picture quality.

This screenshot was taken when using the supplied mini antenna which provided a pretty good picture on some channels but did become a little blocky on others. Connecting the system to an outside aerial did offer less disruption in the picture but not all channels were perfect although this could be down to the digital signal in my area.

The Tube’s EPG is via a free service and appeared to be accurate for each of the channels we tried out. It is very easy to scroll down the list of channels and make changes to what is being viewed. You can set a custom animation (in preference) that is played as the channel changes, such changes take 2-3 seconds). I think The Tube’s one screen feature wins over EyeTV that uses a second ‘controller’ window for recording and channel swapping.

The fact that the channels and controllers are in the one window makes managing viewing very easy. Recording programmes using the The Tube is simple and the software offers the user the option of adding meta to recordings on completion.

It is hard not to compare the TubeStick system to Elgato’s EyeTV but in doing so it essential to bear in mind the massive price differences. The TubeStick Mini at under £30 for both the tuner and software shouldn’t really be expected to match the advanced features of EyeTV such as the ability to edit recordings (remove ad breaks) or series record a programme.

The TubeToGo features are well beyond that expected of an application and device of this price range.

Any computer based TV system is only as good as the signal it receives. Unlike analogue TV bad signal quality in digital transmissions are basically unwatchable resulting in jumpy sound and blocky viewing and if it is an option I would definitely recommend you connect the device to an outside aerial.

This also ensures the best range of channels possible. If you are in an area with reasonable Digital TV signal the TubeStick Mini offers a great TV viewing and recording system at a price considerably less than we would ever expect to pay.

At £30 it is hard to fault this device, actually even at a higher price it would be hard to take issue ! Equinux are committed to software improvement and development so I suspect you will see The Tube getting better and better with each update. If you are looking to treat your Mac in the near future the TubeStick Mini makes a really great gift.

For more information and to buy the Tubestick Mini visit the Equinux Website.

5 Top iPhone Apps for Education

DigMo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:06:13 +0000

Rather than focus on iPhone software with a specific educational purpose. I have decided to compile my top 5 applications for making life easier for the tech savy teacher. In actual fact the list is ideal for anyone managing a number of projects or large volumes of information. I predict this will be a fluid list given the pace of application development in this area.

There are so many useful applications for the iPhone / Touch, I marvel at a number for their sheer simplicity yet stunning power. Two examples are, Vicinity and Shazam. Vicinity uses the GPS on the iPhone to tell you want services or coffee shops are near by and Shazam listens to the music you are listening to and in a few seconds tells you the artist, name of the song and a link to the iTunes store.

These like many others are fantastically useful tools for every day life. The following offer my five favourite applications for education :

Tweetie
I have already covered the educational value of Twitter. I have used pretty much used all the iPhone Apps but to date Tweetie is definitely the favourite.

Evernote
Grab audio, photo and text notes using your iphone and review them on your desktop via the easy to use Evernote service. The application and basic service is free and ideal for most users.

Things
Having been a big fan of Omnifocus I have scaled down my GTD process with visually impressive and easy to use Things. The App overs wirelss sync to the desktop version.

NetNewsWire
I currently read over 100 websites via RSS. NetNewsWire allows easy RSS reading while staying in sync with my desktop reader. The mobile application only displays new news items.

Keynote Remote
A new application to the apps store but after a few weeks of use it is already proving an invaluable tool in presenting Keynote and Powerpoint applications. The bonus of being able to see the next slide before I reveal it makes this an application I will use for many years to come.

It is remarkable that three of these applications are free, one is 59 pence and the most expensive is Things at 5.99. A total of £6.58 has revolutionised how I not only use the iPhone but work from day to day. Everything is digital, if something needs done it gets added to Things.

Notes are quickly added to Evernote for review when time permits. If down time does exist then NetNewsWire offers the change to read the latest educational RSS Feeds. Have I missed any ?

Evernote – Ever Ready

DigMo — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:05:37 +0000

Deep down I have never really liked the idea of cloud computing. The thought that all my tasks, emails, contacts, events and notes would sit on a public area only protected by a username and password just didn’t sit right.

Despite the reality that no is actually interested in my latest note or calendar event it still made me nervous.Cloud computing is here and growing fast and to be honest I’ve grown into it at a colossal rate.

MobileMe, Google Apps, and various other services have resulted in the feeling that our computers are almost useless without an internet connection. Email, contacts, and events are already in the cloud and now it is the turn of Notes. I have always loved the Notes.app on the iPhone but always wished I could sync with my computer rather than have to email the note to myself for processing later.

This is a massive disadvantage if you work on a number of computers and try to keep notes from a particular project together in one place. There is no real way of sort, searching or tagging the notes created on the application.

The latest weapon in my GTD regime is the brilliant note taking application Evernote. The Evernote cloud service is available in two forms. A free version that offers 40MB storage per month with non SSL connection and a premium version that offers SSL, 500MB uploads per month and the ability to sync any file. The premium version doesn’t actually cost a premium at only $45 per year.

Both services offer the key essential features:
Both services offer the ability to sync across platforms. Whatever you sync with the cloud is available across the various platforms you can use to access Evernote. PC, Mac, PocketPC, iPhone. There is hardly a device left out. Evernote offers the ability to tag notes and even the text within images is also searchable.

The desktop interface offers a range of note management features. Your notes are automatically viewable as large (readable) thumbnails for easily identification.

You can add tags to your notes, and syncing takes place automatically every 5 minutes while you are online. The main toolbar offers a range of functions.

You can force a sync of your data using the sync button and your monthly upload allowance is graphically represented in a horizontal bar graph. For general school use I suspect 40MB is enough storage abut I feel the premium account with the added encryption would be recommended for storing sensitive information or records.

Managing notes couldn’t be easier and the Mac version offers the ability to record a video note via the iSight Note button.

Files can be simply dragged into the main interface. The free version is limited to ink, PDF, Image, and audio whereas the pro version offers the ability drag pretty much any other document into Evernote. The only limit is no single document should be more than 25MB.

Watch the YouTube video demoing the rich features of the desktop account.

Mobile
Evernote for iPhone (and iPod Touch) lets you capture any moment or idea as it happens, wherever you may find yourself. Notes can be captured in text, photo and voice (on the iphone). The notes are then synchronised with the cloud and thus accessible on the desktop application and web almost instantly.

As well as accessing your notes on my own computer and iPhone you can also access the system via the Evernote website. From the website you can still create, edit, delete and print notes.

The Verdict

I’ve been using the service for about a week now and paired with my GTD software I am finding it a really useful tool both at the computer and while out and about with the iPhone. I haven’t seen any major sync issues and my upload bar hasn’t changed very much in the last few days.

To be honest the main attraction with going ‘premium’ is the additional security and the ability to sync and view any file format.

Given Google recently announced they would be stopping the development of Google Notes making Evernote the best solution for anyone wanting to store the ideas and notes in one place. If you were a Google Notes user you can easily import your Google Notes to an Evernote account. Click here for a tutorial.

Perhaps I have missed something but surely shouldn’t everyone have an Evernote account. I’d love to hear your opinions and experiences with Evernote (especially if you have been using if for a few month). Please post below,

I’d also welcome any comments you may have on the security aspects of cloud computing ?

Links:
Evernote

Road Movie – Visualhub Alternative ?

DigMo — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:35:40 +0000

If you have ever encoded a queue of video files you will know what an amazing time saver Visualhub can be especially if are encoding for specific platforms or hardware. The developers of Visualhub announced the demise of all their applications last October and although users are still able to use the application the search begins for a suitable alternative.

One application that appears to offer some potential is ‘Road Movie’. Road Movie is a powerful little application that offers a full range of encoding levels. It should be a considered to be solely a video encoder rather than a converter as it doesn’t support conversion between formats (eg FLV, WMV etc).

The applications is visually stunning with a really well designed GUI. The process is very easy to follow, simply click (1) to add a movie for encoding or alternatively you can drag the movie into the main work area. The area marked (2) offers the user control on how the video file is encoded, where it is stored after etc.

There are some nice features in Road Movie such as the ability to add chapters to the video, control subtitles and alter the metadata ready for iTunes and other media players. The screen shot below shows the metadata control. Road Movie also allows you to preview the movie before encoding and also enables you to remove the audio or video track.

It would be great to be able to convert an audio track from a video to mp3 but I couldn’t see that option in Road Movie although there is a WAVE preset.

Like any other video encoding application the software comes with a range of presets, ipod, AppleTV, PSP, Web etc and users can add their own presets to the list quite quickly.

As well as the ability to queue videos for encoding you also have complete control over where they go once the process is complete. As well as folder selection, iTunes, iDisk etc the application also offers direct upload to YouTube.

If you don’t want to use the YouTube service yet still want to store your video online the application offers direct upload via FTP. This would be particularly useful in a video podcasting situation.

Road Movie offers some really nice encoding options and if you own an Elgato .264 encoder (Read our review) Road Movie can take full advantage of the hardware acceleration for even speedier conversions ! In many ways Road Movie is a great alternative to the Elgato software, and a great if you want to encode video for different devices.

Unlike Visualhub it doesn’t (yet) support cross format conversion but if you are looking for an easy to use, reliable and fully featured video encoder then Road Movie would definitely with a download. If anyone has discovered a Visualhub alternative encoder that converts between formats please let us know.

Links:
Road Movie
Elgato .264

Collaborate with Stixy

DigMo — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:38:05 +0000

No one can question the Educational value of Twitter when it offers up discoveries such as the amazing Stixy. Thanks to Twitter (TeachaKidd) we are now totally hooked on the subtle yet powerful Stixy website. Stixy offers an interactive noticeboard on which you can pin post-it notes, images, documents and to-dos.

The site can be used from a single user point of view allowing the ability to store and organise information such as favourite websites or notes. Stixy doesn’t dictate how users should organise their information.

Users can create tasks, appointments, files, photos, notes, and bookmarks on their Stixyboards, organised in whatever way makes sense to them and all the items can be dragged and dropped to anywhere on the user’s ’stixyboard’

One of the best features of Stixy is the powerful collaboration opportunities. You can share your Stixyboard with whoever you want in three different ways each offering a different level of security and access rights. With the guest feature users don’t even have to sign up for an account to access and update your Stixyboard.

Invited
This is sharing your stixyboard with people you have invited via email. You can allow them to view only as well as control the board and add new widgets (Notes, Photos, Documents and To-dos). Note that offering users write access also means they can delete content from you board.

Shared with Password
This option allows you to share your board with a large number of users and the board is protected by a single password. Again you can decided if your guests can edit or just read the content on the board.

Shared with no Password
Finally you can share your newly created Stixyboard with the world without it being protected. Obviously this comes will the common sense warnings of offering any file up for anonymous access.

As mentioned Stixy offers a range of widgets. Notes, Photos, Documents and ToDos. The maximum image size is 4MB and document size is an impressive 50MB. Click on the widget icon and drag it on to your Stixyboard.

The post-it note option isn’t just a plain old yellow note. Users can customise the style colour, size and position of the post-it using the widget preferences.

Images can be easily uploaded. Once Stixy has received the file it auto resizes the images so it fits comfortably on your Stixyboard rather than takes over the entire screen.

Widgets can be easily moved around the Stixyboard and items can be moved forward and backwards (eg so a note is over an image rather than under). If you don’t want a widget to move (such as a document that is the central focus) then the widget options pane offers the ability to lock a widget in place.

The fact that users can log in and work in a graphical based wiki style system that offers a impressive collaborative function means Stixy is going to very useful tool for education especially when working with a large number of students or groups.

Stixy’s free-form design imposes no boundaries on how users lay out, organise, or share their notes, pictures, Web clippings, or tasks. An export option of just your board content would be great but for a beta release there is no doubt you will be hearing more of Stixy in the months to come.

Links:
Stixy.com

Sal Soghoian : Automator for Education

DigMo — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:38:22 +0000

I am exceptionally excited to present a guest post from Apple’s Production Manager for Apple Automator Sal Soghoian. Sal has put together a really simple to follow guide on how Automator can come to the aid of the teacher and is actually much easier to use that you would think.

At first glance, the words “teacher” and “automation” don’t seem to be a logical pairing. When thinking of “teacher,” terms like creative, inspire, lead, and mentor seem appropriate.

But if you look past the uplifting synonyms, you’ll find that words like harried, stressed, and stretched, often better reflect the realities of the modern educational systems, where more and more is asked from our educators.

In this environment, automation becomes an ally and indispensable assistant.

Managing a classroom of desktop or laptop computers is daunting task, even for systems professionals. Making sure all computers are setup correctly; that their desktops are restored and applications put away; that assignments are distributed, or are packaged and labeled properly for submission; that support materials and media are distributed and installed; even confirming that all students are viewing the same webpage; all of these tasks present challenges to teachers and can end up occupying most of their limited instruction time.

But there is help. While you can’t automate the creativity of teachers, you can automate the drudgery of classroom management. Each of the previous scenarios can benefit from automation, through the use of scripts, applets, or workflows that perform essential processes and steps automatically as needed.

For example, a simple AppleScript droplet could name and label a classroom document dragged onto its icon, and then automatically place a copy of that document into a teacher’s assignment drop-box on a server.

Or an Automator workflow could automatically close all open applications, clean off the desktops, and open the next assignment on forty computers, all triggered by the teacher selecting a single item from a menu. These solutions aren’t theoretical but exist today and are available for you to use now, for free.

Every Apple computer running Mac OS X, comes with two powerful automation tools pre-installed: Automator and AppleScript. Automator is an application that enables you to create “automation recipes” (called “workflows”) through a simple drag-and-drop process. And AppleScript is an English-like language used to write customized scripts that automate the computer and the applications that run on it.

Both of these automation tools were created and designed for use by motivated Macintosh users who want to simplify complex or redundant tasks, like renaming a hundred files, or mounting servers and copying disk items to them. The links provided below, point to online resources for learning how to take advantage of these free technologies.

In addition, specially designed for the management of classroom computers are a set of Automator workflows called the Teacher’s Helpers (see links section below). This collection of over 30 workflows is designed to work with Remote Desktop, Apple’s application for managing networked computers.

The Teacher’s Helpers provides easy access to common classroom management workflows by selecting options from an installed menu. And every workflow in the Teacher’s Helpers can be quickly and easily customized by you in Automator.

So, if you’re an educator in need of an extra pair of hands, grab a cup of coffee, sit down and browse these links. Enjoy!

Sal Soghoian
Product Manager Automation Technologies
Apple, Inc.

Links:

Automator
AppleScript
AppleScript Beginner’s Tutorial
Apple Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop Automation
Teacher’s Helpers
Apple Education

Little Snapper : Update Review

DigMo — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:55:43 +0000

Realmac Software have released a brilliant little application called ‘LittleSnapper’. LittleSnapper is the ultimate in screen capture utilities. Easy to use shortcuts make screen grabbing and web grabbing a breeze. Unlike any other screen shot utility LittleSnapper allows to capture aspects of a page, annotate the image, tag and rate, and full highlight and blur features.

The software allows grabbing of full screen, area and window and also provides output to PDF with pagination support. If you produce handouts, manuals or teaching guides then I think LittleSnapper will be the first tool that will tempt you to move away from the traditional screen grabbing features built into Leopard.

Like all Realmac Software the interface is clean, and user-friendly. The drop down menus are easy to follow and the shortcuts follow an intuitive format making them very easy to learn.

There is nothing little about the power and features in LittleSnapper. As we as a stand alone grabbing application it has its own built in web browser. Browse to the page you want and snap it into the library. A really nice element grabber (see below) allows you to grab any aspect of the page and LittleSnapper is able to sense the various elements eliminating the need for crosshairs and alignment guessing. Frankly we love it !

The Basics :

Capturing snaps of entire webpages, as well as areas of your screen, has never been easier. LittleSnapper’s menu item and global keyboard shortcuts allow you to capture webpages without leaving your browser, safe in the knowledge that the snap is automatically added to you library to work with later

Once you’ve started to build a library of snaps you’re free tag, rate, comment & organise your snaps using LittleSnapper’s powerful library tools. Collections of snaps can be built using drag and drop, or you can use the power of Smart Collections that allow you to automatically create ruled-based collections

LittleSnapper’s beautiful vector-based annotation tools allow you to mark up your images with text, callouts, shapes, lines, arrows, blurs and highlighting. Best of all, the annotations are all non-destructive allowing you to hide and show them at a moment’s notice.

LittleSnapper knows that you’ll want to share snaps with your clients, colleagues and friends. To make that possible, we’ve built in support for Flickr, image exports, FTP, SFTP and our own webservice especially for LittleSnapper users: QuickSnapper

The latest updated also added :

Image resizing on export. You can now specify a % to resize by, a constraining resolution, or export at original size.
Snaps can now be classified as a Websnap, Screenshot, Photo, Illustration, Mockup, iSight, iPhone or Other.
LittleSnapper can now copy URLs to the clipboard automatically after publishing (configured in the Publishing preferences).
Dragging snaps to the sidebar now creates collections containing the specified snaps.

Little Snapper offers considerably more than the free screen grabbing tools built into OSX and costs just under £30. Visit Realmac Software for more information and a trial version of LittleSnapper.

Screen Capture Full Length Webpages

Guitar Rig Session Review

DigMo — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:57:19 +0000

Integrating the power of the Apple Mac into my guitar processing set up has always been a bit of an ambition. I have even addressed Guitar and Garageband in a previous post. Having eyed up the Native Instruments Guitar Rig Session for some time we managed to get our hands on one to put it through it’s paces. Low cost guitar to computer interfaces are becoming more and more popular and although this this is great news it brings with it the challenge of selecting the right device.

Devices such as the Boss GT10 come with direct USB out. The problem is such devices are expensive and although the GT10 is easier to use than some devices it can still be pretty challenging especially when compared to the Guitar Rig Software.

Installing the software :

Installing the software pack is completed in two stages. Insert the disc and double click on the installer. If you are a Mac user you will have to enter your password at a number of stages during the install process. Install Guitar Rig, then the Service Centre and then driver. Restart the computer.

When you restart remember to go back to the disc and install the Kore player and the drum sounds. The installer doesn’t automatically take up the install process when you reboot and these great applications could easily be missed.

Once installed connect the hardware i.e. USB into the back of the Guitar Rig 3 Session I/O. Although completely irrelevant to the actual function of the device the hardware is solid, well built and looks amazing. Connecting the USB activated the lights on the top of the device.

We have used a range of USB interface devices and this definitely is the best for quality of build, I’d say this aluminum device would survive even the hardest of tours or road tests.

The guitar connects via input two and make sure you set the push button to instrument, this will be confirmed on the top of the unit via a red light. If you play the guitar at this stage a green signal light should appear on the top of the unit.

Back to Guitar Rig 3
We opted for a totally clean install of the XE software so that any shadow of our own full Guitar Rig 3 software wouldn’t complicate things. We were initially concerned that the stripped down version of the Guitar Rig 3 software (XE) would be akin to a trial or demo version of Pro and leaving you wanting….. I am very happy to say this really isn’t the case.

The XE comes with an excellent range of patches including our own favourite signature sounds such as:

Pink Numb Lead
Always with Satch
Message in a Guitar Rig
2U is no name
Mark in Arms

There are a total of 28 signature sounds never mind the other banks or the sounds and patches you create yourself. If you don’t hear any guitar after selecting a patch check guitar rig has set to use the session I/0 as the sound device. Click on Guitar Rig 3 and preferences.

We won’t go into too much Guitar Rig detail as the software has all the power of the full Guitar Rig software with options like the built in tuner, metronome are all included as well as the following core effects and patches including an impressive range of distortion effects.

One question we have been emailed (with reference to our previous review) is regarding latency issues with the software. Personally having reviewed the full version with Kontroller and now the Session I/O XE system I haven’t noticed any latency issues at all while playing or even switching between patches. The system is definitely reliable enough to use in the studio and as many artists are now doing in a live senario !

Although we used an amp for our final output there is no reason why this couldn’t have been a studio speaker or even the computer speakers. Really the Guitar Rig session is everything you need in one box. The hardware interface between the guitar and the computer as well professional level software for recording directly to Logic, Garageband etc.

The package is ideal for home studio, pro level interfacing and like me the amateur guitarist at home wanting all the latest stomp boxes, all the latest amps and the ability to record easily. This devices offers them all and better, at a fraction of the price ! We love it and just don’t see how they could have made it any better !!! Our guide to recording guitar with garageband is equally as applicable to the Guitar Rig Session as it is the Boss GT10.

Links:
Buy Guitar Rig Products
Native Instruments

NetNewsWire : iPhone

DigMo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:21:49 +0000

I have been really enjoying using NetNewsWire Desktop and using it to sync between two Macs. The next logical step was to take my RSS reading on the road via the free NetNewsWire iPhone / Touch application. As all my subscriptions and read / unread data is synced with NewsGator the iPhone application simply displays the feeds that have unread posts. Again as these posts are read NewsGator is informed and they therefore do not appear when I arrive back at my desktop computer.

Installing and using the application could not be easier and obviously with RSS you need to be online to download your news but the good news for Touch users is with NNW you can read the content offline later and sync again when you are back in WiFi coverage.

Load the AppsStore on your Touch or iPhone and search for NetNewsWire.

As you can see (above) this application is free. Click the word ‘Free’ to install. You now need to tell the mobile application your NewsGator username and password. If you don’t have an account you can still create one via the iPhone / Touch.

NetNewsWire then synchronises all your feeds with NewsGator. What I like about the application is that it only lists feeds that have new items since the last sync. This means you don’t have to scroll through stacks of feeds to find new news.

This is a great mobile RSS reader but it has some really nice additional features that make it a little more powerful and useful when out on the road. If you have ever found a good article in a feed and want to share it with a friend or colleague then you will love the email option.

This feature works really well but I did have a few problems with the emails going direct to spam as they simply contain a URL. This issue is hardly worth mentioning given how useful the tool is.

If you read a lot of RSS subscriptions and find yourself sitting down to 100s of unread posts then this free and handy application could be really useful when away from your computer. Combine this app with the desktop version to create the ultimate RSS marriage. Perhaps it is just strange to see such a great application completely free of charge ?

RSS Reader : NetNewsWire

DigMo — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:43:17 +0000

RSS has really changed how we visit and read articles on websites. No longer do we have to visit a website periodically to check for new content, instead with RSS websites almost appear to contact us. We covered the theory of RSS on an earlier post and this article will look at one way in which you can easily manage your RSS subscriptions.

For a number of years I have been using NewsFire. I was even a user when it was a paid application. NewsFire is a great piece of software that enabled me to read a range of RSS feeds easily. It would check my subscriptions every ten minutes and let me know if there was new content.

I can’t fault NewsFire as a newsreader. On a single computer it really is a perfect solution for managing your RSS subscriptions the only problem I have ever encountered is the frustration of moving between two computers and finding NewsFire presenting you with the same unread news that I had actually viewed earlier on a different computer. For this reason (and pretty much this reason only) I have been using NetNewsWire.Like NewsFire the application is free and very easy to use. The nice thing about both applications is their ability to export and import the feed list in OPML format.

This resulted in a really painless transition from NewsFire and NetNewsWire (and vice versa if I want to move back in the future). I simply exported my feed list in OPML format and imported it into NewNewsWire.

Syncing with NewsGator
Probably the best feature of NetNewsWire is the ability to sync your subscriptions with the free NewsGator system. When you install NewNewsWire you will be prompted to create a free NewsGator account. All you need is to select a username and password, no personal data such as email address etc is actually collected.

The NewsGator system means when you read your RSS subscription on one computer it will be marked read on another computer when you login. This is particularly useful if you have a large number of RSS subscriptions.

As well as displaying the article in plain text. NetNewsWire also acts as a browser allowing news items to be displayed (including nice thumbnail images along the right hand sidebar) in a full page format. Although this is a nice feature and means you don’t have to I still opt for news items to be loaded on a new tab in Safari. This ensures proper rendering of the article as well as a better viewing area.
The application also offers the ability to re-blog content. If you find an interesting article you can add it to your own blog at a click of a button. This feature works really well with the third party application Mars Edit.

I discovered when I moved to NetNewsWire that over a dozen feeds on my list were not actually updating anymore. In actual fact one hadn’t been refreshed in ten months. NNW, changes the colour of old feeds to brown to indicate it hasn’t had any new content in a few weeks.

The interface is very easy to use and feeds can be grouped in folders for easy management. One negative I have found is the minimum refresh interval is 30 mins whereas NewsFire offers the ability to check very 10 mins.

We are certainly very happy with our current RSS solution but the OPML format means we can easily change readers if a new one becomes available. Anyone else have a favourite RSS reader ?

Download NetNewsWire

EyeTV Update : Overview

DigMo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:47:08 +0000

As you may know we are massive fans of the great Elgato EyeTV system. For years I personally have searched for the best computer based TV recording system and I have to say EyeTV is pretty hard to beat. Elgato released EyeTV 3.1, a free update to version 3 users.

There are three aspects to this upgrade, a premium EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) which appears to offer considerable features but is a US / Canada service only, a Smart Series Guide and Parental contols.

Parental Controls

Elgato have managed to add a feature we would love to see on the AppleTV : Parental Controls . To help parents protect their children from objectionably content, EyeTV 3.1 adds support for Parental Controls. EyeTV supports US and Canadian ratings systems as well as the rating contained in DVB video streams.

I am not sure how this will work on the TVTV system but users can also be limited to particular TV Channels. Given how computer centric home entertainment is becoming we think certainly a step in the right direction and is especially handy for managing TV recorded after the 9pm watershed.

Each user has their own pin that can be changed by the master account. The users are pulled from the Mac user accounts but it would be nice to be able to add users just to the EyeTV system.

Smart Series Guide

Thanks to Vox O’Malley we discovered the “Record All” option. TV programmes that show 1/6 in the their listings can be recorded via series link. Click on the programme in the guide and the listing should have a “Record All” button.

Click this button and the programme series will be added to the sidebar.

Notice that unlike Jonathan Ross the Doctor Who has the series link icon.

Thisi s a really nice feature for recording series at a time. If the programme you wish to record does not have a series record option then the Smart Guide will help you record all the episodes you need, follow the steps below.

A Smart Series Guide can be created with a single click. It works by searching the guide for key phrases in various information fields.

In the side menu click the + at the bottom left and select “New Smart Series” In this example we are going to record the latest series of ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’.
Name your Smart Series Guide and click ‘Create’. You will now be offered a range of options including the number of recording that should be kept before being deleted. You can set the programmes to automatically export or add them to a playlist if necessary.

EyeTV then searches through the current listings and lists possible programmes to record. Search for just ‘Jonathan Ross’ brought up ’Film 2009′ as well as Friday Night with Jonathan Ross so it takes a little tweaking. You can set a range of different rules to ensure you only record the programmes you need.

The ability to record entire series of programmes automatically will definitely make EyeTV easier to use.

EyeTV keeps getting better. Although I would go as far as calling it true series link the Smart Guide is a nice addition to the application. Add this to the ability to easily export TV shows and movies into iTunes to sync with an iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV the EyeTV is a great TV system for any Mac owner.

Mail in a Social Network Society

DigMo — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:24:38 +0000

If you are involved with any sort of Web 2.0 and social networking activities you will be no doubt swamped by emails. You have your blog comment approvals, Twitter follower notifications, Twitter Direct Messages, Facebook Friends requests, and Facebook event invitations to name but a few.

It is amazing just how much email social network sites can actually generate and how quickly your mailbox fills up when you add this to your other email. Smart Mailboxes in Mail.app offer a very quick and simple solution to keeping your email under control.

Smart Mailboxes work the same way as your traditional mailbox, a number will be displayed on the icon indicating how much unread email is in the folder etc. The only real difference is they appear purple in the sidebar and don’t really actually contain mail, they are like a filter for your main mailbox.

I use a number of Smart Mailboxes. I find a full inbox and a mix of read and unread email a little confusing and sometimes depressing. The first smart mailbox I set up was “Unread” but I also have smart mailboxes for Twitter, Blog Comments etc.

You can create a smart mailbox rule based on just about anything. Better still if you have MobileMe the smart mailboxes are backed up to the cloud.

Step 1

Click on the + symbol on the bottom left of the main Mail.app window.

This will give the option of creating a new mailbox, Smart mailbox or a new RSS Feed. (RSS may only appear in the Leopard version of Mail). Click on ‘Smart Mailbox’

Step 2 : Name your Smart Mailbox

Enter the name of your mailbox in the highlighted box, this could be Facebook, Twitter etc depending on the type of rule you are creating.

Step 3 : Setting the Criteria

Smart Mailboxes are well, Smart. You add different criteria and instruct Mail.app to match mail when ALL or ANY of the criterial met.

In this example I am going to set a Smart Mailbox for Facebook email and I want only email I have not read to be in the mailbox.

The Default option for the first rule is “From” “Contains” The screenshot below has been edited to show all the options available for both menus.

Create your first rule by adding “Facebook” without the ” into the first rule line (see below). Click the + on the right of the first rule to add additional rules.

My next rule is to select unread. Click “Any Recipient” and then the “unread” option.

You can add more rules and tell mail to include the Trash and Sent item mailboxes. As you become more familiar with using Smart Mailboxes you may find you only use the Smart Mailboxes to access and read your mail over the traditional mailbox route.

One you have mastered Smart Mailboxes you may venture into the realms of Mail Rules (from the preferences menu). These work in a very similar way to Smart Mailboxes but allow you to auto delete email, move it and even forward to someone else.

Smart Mailboxes are the first step to inbox bliss.

iPhoto to Facebook Plugin

DigMo — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:57:41 +0000

The majority of people I have spoken to about iLife are excited most about the new iPhoto features. There has been a fair bit of discussion about the new export features that got me thinking about a previous post on DigMo!

If you are struggling to justify the upgrade to iLife 09 then the free iPhoto to Facebook Plugin just might appeal. The application allows users to instantly upload images to their Facebook profile as well as tag each image with names of users etc.Using the plugin could not be easier. Once installed simply follow the steps below don’t panic about adding private photos etc as the uploaded photos are considered “pending”. You’ll have the opportunity to review pending photos on Facebook and set the privacy level before making them visible from your profile.

Simply download the install file and follow the install procedure.

Once installed using the plugin couldn’t be easier :

1. Select Photos in your iPhoto Library

Select your favorite photos or a whole album, click “Export” in the “File” menu (or the “Share” menu in iPhoto 5), then click the “Facebook” tab. Your photos will be previewed here.

2. Pick a Facebook Album

Pick one of your existing Facebook albums, or create a new one. Your photos will be uploaded to this album.

3. Add Captions

Scroll through your photos and add captions to any or all of them. The captions are auto-filled with any comments you’ve already made through iPhoto.

4. Tag Your Friends

You can tag your friends using the same quick-and-easy interface found on Facebook. Click on someone in your photo, then select from a list of your friends.

Note: If any of your friends have disabled access for this Platform application, they won’t be displayed in your friend list.

5. Export

When you are done adding captions and tags, click the “Export” button to upload your photos to your Facebook account.

Requirements

Mac OS X 10.4 or later (PowerPC or Intel)
iPhoto 5 or later

Installation

Download the installer by clicking on the above button.
Double-click the downloaded file to unzip it.
Double-click the installer package to start the Installer.
After installation, open iPhoto (quit first if it was already running).
There should be a “Facebook” tab in iPhoto’s export panel. Details below.

Download the Plugin : here.

A Quick Guide to Using iWork.com

DigMo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:26:41 +0000

There was massive speculation in the run up to Macworld that iWork was about to enter ‘the cloud’. To a certain extent that prediction came true in the form of iWork.com. This article is an easy step by step guide for anyone thinking of jumping to iWork 09 and using iWork.com. It should be noted that iWork.com is still currently in beta and therefore some of the features mentioned may change when it goes live.

During the Macworld Keynote there was mention of a paid subscription but I am hoping the service is included with the MobileMe service. Currently during the beta users have 1GB of data.

Sharing via iWork is a very simple process. Firstly open the iWork file you want to share. Apple are going to great lengths to promote the iWork.com service by putting the icon right the centre of the toolbar, you really can’t miss it (see the screenshot above).

The first stage in sharing is to login with your AppleID.

We used out MobileMe account to login to iWork.com and if you don’t have MobileMe then your AppleID will be your iTunes username and password. The next screen offers a range of sharing and naming options. I have opened the ‘Advanced’ settings to show what is on offer.

I think the ability to download the file in a range of formats is a really nice feature especially if you plan to share with users who are not using a Mac.

Clicking the ‘Share’ button starts the upload to iWork.com

Once the upload is complete you will prompted that the file will be available for 120 days. I am assuming this is down the fact we taking in part in a beta and would hope to be able to store files for indefinitely on final release.

Both you and the person/people you are sharing the document with will receive a similarly formated email and a link to the file.

The iWork.com offers a really nice graphical user interface. Remember though it offers the ability to share iWork files it doesn’t (at this stage anyway) offer any formatting tools so users are limited to adding comments or downloading the file to their own computer.

iWork.com responded well to changing the slides and there was little or no load time. I think I would go as far as saying that I wished my MobileMe web galleries responded equally well.

The interface itself is very like iWork so it is easy to predict we are likely to see more tools added to the interface as it develops. By visiting http://publishing.iwork.com you can view a list of the current files you are sharing and how much of the 1GB you have left.

Certainly iWork.com has limits when compared to the massive collaboration features offered by Google Docs. That said if you produce a lot of iWork documents that are shared with others this service could offer some really great potential.

There are plenty of occasions when an important Keynote presentation has to be previewed by a number of people. Now instead of having to visit people with a Macbook a single email (and the ability to comment) will make life much easier. For this reason alone iWork.com is a real benefit !

You can download a trial of the new iWork now from the Apple site or buy it (and pre-order iLife) from the Apple Store You can also get the iPhone / Touch Keynote remote application here.

DigMo! » Software

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Conclusion

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Performance

Conclusion

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★★

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Links

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The Verdict

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The Basics :

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Parental Controls

Smart Series Guide

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Step 1

Step 2 : Name your Smart Mailbox

Step 3 : Setting the Criteria

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2. Pick a Facebook Album

3. Add Captions

4. Tag Your Friends

5. Export

Requirements

Installation

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