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[Trailer for Full Show]Following on from several requests, this weeks show is all about preparing for MobileMe, the new .Mac replacement service due to be launched in early June 2008. The show covers the basics of MobileMe and gives you some useful tips on how you can prepare for MobileMe if you're an existing .Mac user, or even if you're considering signing up for .Mac in advance of MobileMe. Topics cover: Introduction Not a .Mac User? .Mac Services Being Withdrawn Preparing for MobileMe Preparing for MobileMe Mail Preparing for MobileMe Calendar Preparing for MobileMe Contacts Preparing for MobileMe Web Gallery Preparing for MobileMe iDisk Other MobileMe Considerations Signing up for .Mac Also included in this weeks show is an update to the Evernote service, recently feature on ScreenCastsOnline (SCO0151 and 152). FResh out of closed beta, Evernote has now launched its premium services and some new changes to the services it provides.

As we start to spend more and more time using Web based applications (or WebApps), the standard web browser is becoming more and more critical. The problem is that with the advent of tabbed browsing, individual WebApps become harder to manage and locate on your desktop. Add in the fact that a single bad website can sometimes crash your browser or make it unstable, you can end up losing all of your browser sessions in one fell swoop! Fluid comes to the rescue! Fluid is a Leopard only application that allows you to simply and easily create "Site Specific Browsers" or SSBs. A "Site Specific Browser" is a completely separate desktop application just for one single WebApp. In effect, it turns the WebApp into a manageble service with a dedicated desktop client that's configured just for that WebApp. Each SSB you create will have its own Menu Bar, Dock Icon and runs completely independently from other SSBs or browser sessions. So now you can launch SSBs at login, switch to them using CMD TAB, basically treat it as a desktop application. In addition to these features, Fluid also gives you the ability to convert your SSBs into MenuExtra SSBs which reside in your menbar and are accessible at the click of a mouse. If you'd like your SSB permanently displayed as your OS X Desktop, it even supports Embedded SSBs to allow you to do just that! Along with window customisation, an extendible plugin architecture, support for GreaseKit based Userscripting and most importantly, supported by 1Password, Fluid is a simply must have application. In this weeks show I cover: Installation Creating Simple SSBs (Examples: Gmail and Google Docs) Window Customisation Creating MenuExtra SSBs (Example: Using Hahlo for Twitter access) Installing Userscripts Creating Embedded SSBs (Example: Using Google Calendars as your OSX Desktop) Fluid Plugins Finding Fluid Icons via flickr Updating Fluid Icons to High Res versions Fluid is completely free and available to download from www.fluidapp.com

[Trailer for Full Show]Time for a show with a hardware bent! Lots of buzz around the internet about a product that enables you to "hack" your Apple TV simply and easily. All without opening the case and potentially voiding your warranty. The product is aTV Flash v3.0 from Applecore LLC. The steps are this: Buy the aTV Flash software and download to your Mac. Download a free disk image file from Apple. Insert a Flash USB drive on your Mac and run a script Restore your Apple TV to factory settings Insert the Flash USB drive into the Apple TVs USB port and reboot And that's it! This weeks show takes you through all these stages in detail and even shows you how to setup and transfer media to your Apple TV via FTP plus how to use some of the Applications installed as part of the aTV flash upgrade. Please note that this show has not been sponsored or endorsed by Applecore LLC.

Following on from last weeks Extra! members only show, this week completes the tutorial on using Evernote - the cross platform and web based information management tool. This week I finish off by looking at some additional features of Evernote including: Drag and Drop Support Using iSight Notes to catalogue and search your business cards Evernote Client Views Creating And Organising Tags Using Attributes Creating Saved Searches Accessing the Evernote Web Client Using Emails to Send Data to Evernote I also include a really handy tip on using your iPhone to capture images and have them appear in Evernote as searchable items - very, very handy!

[Trailer for Full Show] I think I may have found the answer to my perpetual quest for an efficient and effective way to keep all the bits of information I accumulate everyday. You know the problem - lots of bits of texts, web pages, ideas, thoughts, images, reminders, notes, etc,. So much "stuff" but nowhere sensible to store them so that I have access from any computer or any device. And then as for thinking up ways to organise and label things so that you can find it again - nightmare! This weeks show is all about Evernote - a personal information manager which seems to address all the requirements I have for my information store. There's so much to cover, I've had to split this show into two parts, the second part will be released next week. Evernote is many things! Firstly, at its core is a web based service that allows you to access your information via any industry standard web browser. Secondly, Evernote has local client applications for both the Mac and Windows that allow you to capture and store information locally and syncronise with the Evernote Web service. Thirdly, Evernote has mobile clients, plus an iPhone optimised web interface, so you can access all your information on the move. Not only that, but Evernote includes some amazing character recognition technology so that any photos or digital images with text (even handwritten text) that you capture in Evernote, become searchable!! You really have to see it to appreciate it and of course this weeks show will show you! Next weeks show will look at some additional features of Evernote including some pretty handy tips on using Evernote with your iPhone.

[Full Free Show] An invaluable utility this week, one that I seriously could not function without! It's TextExpander from Smile On My Mac. On first glance, it looks like a very simple utility to help you save time. It allows you to create small textual abbreviations that, when typed, will expand into words, sentences, paragraphs or even images. It can even trigger AppleScripts, just by typing a few characters or even a single character! What's really special is that it's a system wide utility so you're not restricted to just your email or word processor, TextExpander works with all the applications on your Mac. Speed up your typing, use it to auto-correct commonly misspelt words, respond to emails in a flash, generate tons of CSS or HTML code, TextExpander really does give your productivity a boost. In this weeks show I cover: Some common uses of TextExpander Creating your own Snippets Using Date and Time Variables Positioning the cursor in Snippets Using text selections to create Snippets TextExpander Groups including Adding from a File and URL Predefined Snippet Groups AppleScript Support The free version of this weeks show is sponsored by Smile On My Mac and they have kindly offered a 20% discount to ScreenCastsOnline viewers up to July 31st 2008. To purchase TextExpander using this discount, just visit the special ScreenCastsOnline landing page at http://www.smileonmymac.com/sco

[Trailer for Extra! Members Show] Time for some creativity & fun. GarageBand '08 is the latest version of the amazing music creation software included in the iLife '08 suite - free with all new Macs. Can't play an instrument? Never had the time to learn? Well don't be disheartened as GarageBand '08 is suitable for all levels of musicians, from complete novices to accomplished players. What's even better is that you don't need an instrument or even any musical skills to create polished music tracks. This weeks' show focuses on the music creation side of GarageBand '08. If you want to checkout how to create and enhanced podcast, have a look at SCO0042. The show covers: Software Instrument Tracks Using The OnScreen keyboard Using your Mac keyboard Interfacing Midi Keyboards Real Instrument Tracks Connecting Musical Instruments via USB & Firewire Recording in GarageBand All About Apple Loops Creating Songs using Apple Loops Master Track Automation Special Effects Automation Magic GarageBand Exporting Tracks And to create entire songs in one of nine different genres, I also looks at Magic GarageBand, a great new mode that does all the heavy lifting for you, enabling you to create a multitrack song completely from scratch, automatically.

Time for an update on an application I last looked at over 12 months ago. Acknowledged as the premier diagramming, charting and visualisation tool for OSX, OmniGraffle has recently been relaunched with a mojor upgrade - OmniGraffle 5. Available in both Standard and Pro versions, OmniGraffle is the tool that Mac users rely on to produce diagrams, process charts, UI mock ups and much more. Recognised as a perfect Visio replacement for switchers coming across to the Mac, OmniGraffle is a delight to use (see this recent blog post - "OmniGraffle makes it easy to leave Visio behind") combining simplicity with ease of use to deliver outstanding results. This weeks show revisits some of the functionality I examined in the last show but focuses more on the new features in OmniGraffle 5 including: User Interface Update New Toolbar Configuring Drawing Tools Mini Inspector Style Tray Tools Basics inlcluding: New Bezier Line Tool Diagram Tool New Layout Engine New Stencil Palette Graffletopia Integration New OmniGraffle Pro features including: Subgraphs Presentation Mode Visio Compatability This weeks free show is sponsored by the Omni Group.

[Trailer for Extra! Members Show] Something different this week, not one but three really useful utilities. What's even better is that they are all free! JumpCut - A great clipboard buffering application which takes a minimilistic approach to give you access to your recent clipboard entries. Go back in time and select from a list of recent clips from either your menu bar or via a hot key and bezel. DejaMenu - Large or multiscreen setup? Fed up of having to travel all the way to the top of the screen to access your applications menu? Or even worse, having to traverse monitors to get access? DejaMenu allows you configure every applications menu to pop up right where your cursor is, saving you effort and time. You can even assign your menus to popup with a click of your mouse! SoundSource - Constantly juggling different audio outputs and inputs on your Mac? SoundSource gives you access to all your audio devices quickly and easily through a single icon n your menu bar as well as a volume control for each device. In addition, the members version of this weeks show has a special section just for members which explains the renewal process and what to do to prevent your membership expiring, and what to do if it does!

[Free Show] We revisit one of OSXs most misunderstood features this week and that's the latest version of Automator in Leopard. Automator is a way of creating special applications or plugins that allow you to "automate" repetitive tasks. Each workflow is built up from a number of predefined actions that are bundled in with most of Apples own applications and an increasing number of third party applications. Initially introduced in Tiger, Automator has received a significant make over in Leopard with the introduction of some brand new features, mainly the ability to record tasks using the new "Watch Me Do" feature along with the introduction of user and system generated variables to use in your workflows. So if the thought of AppleScript sends shivers down your spine, check out some the new features of Automator. The show covers: Automator Basics The revised Interface Creating a Sample Workflow to resize images Creating a Sample Workflow with Text and Speech Saving Workflows as Applications Saving Workflows as Plugins Creating a Sample Workflow with "Watch Me Do" Creating and Scheduling an iCal Plugin In the Extra! members version of the show this week, there is an Extra! section only available to ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members: Variables in Automator Creating a Sample Workflow including Variables

[Trailer for Extra! Show] Preview is one of OS X Leopards hidden gems. Hidden so much so, that most people are only aware of a fraction of its somewhat surprising range of features and capabilities! Preview received a complete makeover with the release of Leopard, providing you with lots of additional power and flexibility. The great thing is, it's free and it's on all Macs so you never have to falter to make that image correction when your favourite shareware or freeware application isn't installed on someone else's Mac. In this show, I'll take you through all the basic features of Preview including: Image Capture Viewing Single and Multiple Images with Preview Slideshow Views Managing Images within Preview Color Correction Image Annotation Image Conversion and Resizing Opening and Re-arranging PDFs Annotation and Mark Up of PDFs Searching Bookmarks See, I told you there was a lot to Preview!

Simple. Intuitive. Powerful. That's the strap line for this weeks application which is VectorDesigner by TweakerSoft. Causing quite a buzz earlier this year by winning a "Best of Show" 2008 and also being featured as one of the premium applications in the last MacHeist promotion, VectorDesigner is a fully featured vector drawing application. Unlike raster or bitmapped based drawing applications such as PixelMator or Photoshop, VectorDesigner uses vector based graphics allowing you to create drawings that are infinitely scalable without any degradation or loss of quality. VectorDesigner has some pretty amazing features including: Fully editable Smart Shapes Bezier creation and editing Flowing text along a path Flowing text inside a shape Boolean operators Layers Image filters powered by Core Image and Quartz Composer iSight Integration Flickr Integration Scanner Integration iLife photo browser In addition, VectorDesigner also allows you to import or scan raster based images and convert them into scalable, editable vector graphics. This weeks show touches on all these features (OK, except for iSight integration, I don't think you're quite ready for my ugly mug in a screencast yet!) and even takes you through creating a vector image design from scratch. Of special interest is the Flickr integration that allows you to browse Flickr via a VectorDesigner Flickr browser and search for images and photos based on subject, colour or your own criteria. Once you've found an approriate image, just drag the image directly into your own VectorDesigner document as a new image or to add texture to an existing object. This week is a free show and is sponsored by TweakerSoft.

[Trailer for Extra! Show] Time Machine must be one of the most useful features of Leopard and should be mandatory for all Macs users. The fact is many people don't backup their critical or precious personal data and leave it until it's too late. Time Machine takes away the pain of undertaking and organising your backups but it does need additional investment in hardware. A simple firewire disk is adequate for most people, but what if you have several Macs? What if you'd like to buy a new disk but you want that wireless router as well? The answer is to take a look at Time Capsule, the latest backup device from Apple designed specifically for Leopard users and Time Machine. But in fairness, to call it just a backup device does it a disservice. It's a multi-function machine with many roles: Backup Device - 500GB or 1TB of storage built right in. Enough to service a single mac or multiple macs. Centralise all your Time Machine backups. Wireless Device - Includes a full blown 802.11n wireless hub allowing you to create a wireless network or join an existing wireless network. You can backup your devices wirelessly and automatically. GigaBit Network Switch - Includes three wired Gigabit ethernet ports so you can connect wired devices to your network. Expandable - Add additional USB drives to expand your storage - never run out of space for your backups! Print Server - Connect a printer and access your printer across the network from both wired and wireless devices. The real beauty of Time Capsule is just how easy it is to setup and use and that's where this weeks show comes in. In the show I cover: Time Capsule Overview Typical Networking Scenario Installing & Configuring Time Capsule Adding Additional Storage to Time Capsule Access Time Capsule with Time Machine As well as Time Capsule, Apple have also introduced the ability to add additional USB storage devices to existing Airport Extreme devices. It's not as straight forward as Time Capsule but if youe have an existing Airport Extreme, it's an extremely cost effective way of centralising your Time Machine backups. Consequently the show also covers: Adding Drives to Airport Extreme Configuring AirPort Extreme Disks Accessing Airport Extreme Disks via Time Machine.

[Free Show] Finishing off the trio of shows all about iWork '08, this weeks show brings you up to date with the newly revised Pages'08, Apples flexible, yet powerful, word processor and page layout application. Addressing the major complaints about Pages'06, mainly that it wasn't a "proper" word processor, Apple have completely revised Pages '08 to include a brand new "word processor" mode, in addition to its original page layout mode. To make it even easier to use, Apple have also introduced the context sensitive format bar in line with the other iWork applications to allow for less reliance on the inspector panels and give you control of the common elements right within the application window itself. Following on from the previous show I did on Pages '06 (nearly two years ago!), this show will bring you up to speed on lots of the new functions and capabilities of this outstanding package! This weeks show is a free show, but there is an extended show available for ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members with an additional 10 minutes of content and chapter marks. Extra! members will receive the extended show automatically as usual. The show covers: Introduction to Pages '08 Using the Format Bar Paragraph, Character & List Styles Page & Section Breaks Tracking Changes in Documents The Extra! members extended show also covers: Working with Images in Pages Instant Alpha Wrapping Text around images Masking Images and Picture Frames Text Flow in Page Layout Mode Exporting

[Trailer for Extra! Show] We've all been there! You need to organise a meeting between a group of people and end up with an avalanche of emails from people who can make this day but not that. Or change their availability three times in a week. As for trying to arrange something across time zones with daylight savings time thrown into the mix - absolute nightmare. Well recently I've been in just that position trying to schedule recording sessions for the Mac Roundtable! 10 very busy podcasters across 4 different time zones all trying to synchronise our activities and come up with a shared free slot to record. In this age of Web 2.0, I thought there must be a service somewhere that could come to our rescue and sort out this complex organisational task. So a quick bit of research and I found it! After using it for a day or so I was so impressed I thought I'd spread the word to help out ScreenCastsOnline viewers who are also tasked with sorting out meeting schedules. So I abandoned my plan for this week and did a show all about ScheduleOnce, especially as its completely free to use. As a web based service its totally cross platform, you don't need to register and did I mention it's free. You don't even need to know what time zones all the participants are in. It's simply a matter of setting up a meeting notice (which takes 2 minutes) and emailing a special link to your invited participants. They respond using the link, and the system gives you a view of all the responses and allows you to select the optimum time and email them with the confirmed date and time, all formatted in their local timezone. This weeks show takes you through setting up a meeting, let's you see what the invitees receive and show you the responses and how you process them! I hope this makes your life easier as it did mine!