One of my main reasons for having an iPad is to lighten my load. To use it during training classes; which normally encompassed a binder full of notes, lesson plans, you name it, along with the necessary books.
So the iPad fit the bill exceptionally well of allowing me the same content, with less to carry, in a form flexible for my needs, digital. When it comes to notes, articles, lesson plans, etc., I use the PDF format. And I have thousands of PDF files.
I'm getting closer to my goal of not needing my laptop when I go out of town – I'm trying to get down to just needing my iPad. I've already shown some printing options in a past posting (and that might even become easier when Apple natively supports printing in a couple of months). I've got a couple of solutions for accessing desktops remotely, so I can run anything I need to for work or for home (although running something complex, like, say, Dreamweaver, is probably still too difficult, but I'm talking about doing quick fixes).
The only outstanding big issue I have is with PDFs. I'm in a few Play By EMail (PBEM) games of Speed Circuit, a racing board game. We try to get in a turn a day in each game, and the turns for most of the games I'm in are sent out as PDFs. The race track is a static image, and the cars are all notations on the track. Here's a sample (click on the graphic to be taken to an even smaller one – then click on that to see one where you can actually read it [no, it makes no sense to me either...]):
The colored circles represent the cars, and clicking on one (or hovering over it) in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader shows the details in the box (which are important pieces of info on the car's current speed and status).
However, on an iPad, it looks like this:
No cars! iOS' built-in PDF viewer doesn't recognize annotations in PDFs, unlike on a Mac, where Preview does (although it's not as nice a display as in Acrobat).
But thanks to an update to ReaddleDocs for iPad($5), I'm a little bit closer (but not quite there). Here's what it looks like in ReaddleDocs (after touching an annotation):
It's a bit hard to see, but in the background are a lot of little word balloons – those are the cars. And as you can see, almost all the info from the car is displayed – all but the name of the driver (it may be hard to see, but my name appears in the title of the popup in the first graphic above). So if I don't remember exactly where my car was, I might not be able to pick it out of a crowd.
In addition, in one of my other races, the cars don't show up at all, just like in the iOS reader.
So hopefully soon I'll be able to do without my laptop on trips, but not just yet.
Any of you trying to get by on just your iPad when on a trip? If you can't, what's holding you back?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a phonograph around. Growing up in my crazy family, we even had our own audio recorders (vinyl, wire, reel-to-reel), and I cut more than my share of records, whether recording family gatherings or just goofing off with my cousin. Today, phonographs have been replaced by digital players, and the challenge now is to move some of the valuable old vinyl records to CD or MP3 player.
In the past, I’ve used an old school-type portable 4-speed turntable, connected via iMic and a patch cable. Recently, Woot.com (one of my favorite bargain sites!) featured an ION Profile LP 2-speed USB turntable at a price I couldn’t pass up. It’s a nice unit for the average person. Plug in the power cord, connect the USB cable and you are set to go.
Software bundled with it is EZ Audio Converter, which imports your audio. It’s basic, and will allow you to split the record into separate tracks, but that’s about it. They recommend Audacity for cleaning up the inevitable pops and crackles, but I went looking for something better. I found it.
I downloaded a demo version of VinylStudio, and liked it enough that I happily paid ($29.95 + tax) for it. It works seamlessly with the ION turntable, importing, then splitting tracks (with a bit of operator help) and cleaning up the extra junk sounds caused by dust and scratches. The test was an LP from 1962, the Detroit Redford High School Annual Spring Concert. It features the choir, glee clubs, vocal ensembles, orchestra and concert band (and yes, I'm in 5 out of 10 tracks). Now, the original recording was done in the school auditorium, not a studio, nobody was miked, so the quality was not award-winning. Still, it’s part of my past that I want to preserve and share with some of my classmates.
First, I recorded it with EZ Audio and used Audacity to clean it up. The results were not bad, but there were still too many pops and clicks to make me happy. I ripped it a second time using nothing but VinylStudio, and while I did have to help it along with the breaks between tracks, it did a superb job of cleaning up the noise. That alone made it worth the price. It burned directly to CD in standard AIFF format, and it also copied the files to iTunes in AAC format.
VinylStudio should also work for transferring audio cassettes, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. For cassettes, I have an old Sony Walkman that I connect to the computer with a Griffin iMic. Works like a charm. Now if anyone happens to be looking for a bargain on an old portable 4-speed rig…
Here's a quick tip for travelers that travel with both a MacBook and an iOS device such as an iPad, iPod touch or iPhone. Although I usually travel with an Airport Express for those times when I'm in a hotel room with Internet access via ethernet, sometimes I'm in a conference center and I'm connected to the center's internet via ethernet directly into my MacBook Pro. In those cases I'm usally doing a software demo and my Airport Express is back in the hotel room. Also in those cases I'm usually either using my iPad/iPhone and/or I'm presenting with colleagues that also need internet access. The problem is that in those cases there are rarely multiple ethernet plugs and nor is there WiFi (well sometimes there's WiFi, but usually at an additional cost).
I do the next best thing
I plug the ethernet cable in my MacBook Pro and then I enable Internet Sharing via the Sharing System Preferences. This in effect turns your MacBook notebook into a temporary WiFi hotspot for other devices to share your internet connection. You can share any internet connection you have to the Mac over any other connection the Mac has built-in.
For example, if you are connected to the internet via ethernet, then that means you can share that connection over the Mac's built-in AirPort (WiFi) card. If you are connected to the internet via AirPort then you could share that connection to another Mac/PC over ethernet. This even works for those 3G USB data cards too. So if you were connected to the internet via a 3G USB/ExpressCard data card you could share that internet connection to other devices over ethernet OR AirPort. You can do any combination, you just can't share the connection you have over the SAME type of connection. So if you're connected via AirPort you can NOT share that connection over AirPort. Best of all if you share your connection over AirPort you can even password protect your temporary WiFi hotspot to keep others off your connection and from stealing your bandwidth.
My boss was very appreciative of the fact that when we were in London and I was presenting, she could be in the audience with her MacBook Pro and catch up on email "wirelessly" during the breaks since I had the only ethernet connection, on stage, as there was no other WiFi connection in the venue.
You might be as old as me and when you hear the word "stash", you start thinking like "Cheech and Chong" and you know what stash means to them.
However, that is not the type of stash i was speaking of.
The Stash
The stash I am speaking of is your backup. Yep after you complete a successful backup of your Mac or PC, where do you stash your backup?
It's important to make sure that you keep you stash somewhere safe away from the computer that you backed up.
Where? you ask. Go ahead, ask……. where?
Let me suggest some places.
1) A trusted friend or family members home.
2) Your locked desk at work.
3) A Safe Deposit box.
4) Storage facility you may already rent.
5) Any place but the same place where the computer you backed up.
This way you can be sure you have a stash that will satisfy your needs if disaster strikes.
Musical Selection
Here's a spin on Springsteen that I really enjoyed…. Perhaps you will too.
Radio Days
Well looks like Spartan Football will be pre-empting the "Internet Advisor Show" again this week. Check the website for Foster's podcast interviews and when we will be back "on the air" again.
C Ya!
Though I password protect my computer, and no one other than myself uses it, there are some items (folders and maybe even an app or two) that I would like to keep password protected all the time; even as I am working on my computer.
There’s the inevitable of being momentarily pulled away for a quick moment that turns into much longer than that. Or even leaving the scene, as your computer is running a process, when putting it to sleep at that time is not viable. Whatever the reason, protecting your privacy is always a valid concern.
Espionage is a program that allows you to encrypt folders and applications; to keep them private and secure at all times.
VLC appeared in the App Store for iPads a couple of days ago. VLC is a great open source video player/converter that will play many video types that QuickTime won't (without help at least from things like Perian). The iPad port is also free, so I thought I'd give it a spin (being the cheapskate that I am).
Why would you need another video player, you might ask? (Go ahead, ask.) You just might have some AVI or WMV or MPEG-1 video lying around that you haven't bothered to re-encode (because you could play it on your computer already with VLC!).But now you want to take it with you. So rather than re-encode, it would be nice to just transfer those videos and go.
Yes, I imagine it would be. I have to imagine, because I'm finding that VLC on the iPad won't play back very much. I tried MPEG-1 and 2 files, AVI, WMV, FLV, DivX, QuickTime (using Cinepak, not H.264)…all formats that play just fine on my Mac in VLC. But on the iPad, only the AVI and QuickTime files played. The AVI file was using H.264, and it was kind of choppy. The rest didn't even show up on the iPad, even though I got to wait for them to download, and some were big, so they obviously transferred.
So in it's present form, VLC on the iPad is not very useful. Fortunately, it's free, so hopefully, at some point, it will be, but for now, it's of no use to me. I see others also having the same problem in the App Store, so it's not just me. For now, your best bet is to continue to re-encode your video into a supported format with Handbrake, the free, cross-platform utility.
I cringe whenever I run into people who don't see the need to backup their files, or are content to do it only when they remember. What could possibly go wrong? Drives die. Power blips can scramble your data. Backups can fail. Disaster will strike when you can least afford it. For this reason, you really need multiple backups.
This fact has become very apparent on two occasions in the last month. Now, I don't know if it's a problem with Time Machine, or just a coincidence, but I've had both of my Time Machine drives (iMac & MacBook) become damaged to the point where I had to reformat both drives and start from square one. Not even my trusty old DiskWarrior could fix them. I noticed a problem with the first one when I tried to replace a corrupt file on my main drive by going back a week. No good. Back two weeks. Nope. Kept getting a message that I didn't have sufficient privileges, but no offer to authenticate.
Tried to repair the drive with both Disk Utility and DiskWarrior, and both kept hanging. Reformat time, and now all seems to be well. Fortunately, I have another drive that has daily backups of my home directory and documents folder. DéjaVu handles those daily backups, and has never failed me. And, of course, I use SuperDuper! for full, bootable, cloned backups. Multiple backups saved the day.
Last Friday, I discovered that the little Hitachi drive I use for Time Machine with my MacBook had been accidentally disconnected. When I reconnected it, it didn't want to mount on the desktop. Again, repairing it didn't work. After trying everything I could, I gave up and erased it, intending to start a fresh backup. After erasing it, I decided to run diagnostics on it and received damage errors. I had just about decided that the drive was toast, and was even checking warranty info, when I decided to give it one last try with my iMac. I have no idea why, but connected to the iMac, I was able to reformat the little beast, and diagnostics said it was a-ok. I hooked it back up to the MacBook, and all seems to be functioning normally again, although I'm seriously considering using velcro to attach the thing to the MacBook in hopes that the cable will not be knocked out again.
Backup drives are not expensive. Checking dealmac shows new bargains every day. Yesterday they listed a Toshiba 640 GB USB drive for $50. Need more space? They also listed an Iomega Select 2TB USB for $105. FIrewire drives are more expensive, but if you are on a limited budget, go with USB. Just make sure you back up those files. And remember, if one backup is good, two are definitely better. I know from personal experience.
I use a trackpad everyday pretty much all day long. However, the trackpad I use is not by choice really. It's on my MacBook Pro and I use it because it's the path of least resistance. Not because I really love it. Sure I could use a wireless mouse. I could even use a wireless Wacom tablet. I do use both when I'm going to be at a desk/table for an extended period of time. I definitely use my tablet when I have any serious retouching work to do in Photoshop. The trackpad is OK. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I use it because it's built-in and more convenient when traveling and on the go.
I never thought I would actually like using a trackpad on a desktop computer
Like I said above, I use the trackpad on my MacBook Pro because it's built-in. However, your options are wide open when you use a desktop computer. You can use a mouse, trackball, tablet or any other pointing device you want. So when I saw the Magic Trackpad, I almost immediately dismissed it as "not for me". Not once did I ever think I would prefer or like using a trackpad on a desktop computer. One day while visiting a friend I saw that he had one. I asked him how he liked it and he said that he "loved it." I said, "really? no seriously. It's just us. How do you like it?" He really did like it. Not to mention he was using it with a 30" Cinema Display. We were on our way back to my house and he said that he would bring it for me to try. I thought, "yeah, whatever." I humored him and gave it a try. The first thing that I have to admit liking about it was the fact that the entire pad clicks down onto the two front feet. For some reason I like the feel of this over the existing MacBook Pro trackpad. When Apple removed the button from the MacBook Pro I really did miss it and still do. However, I didn't hate this new larger trackpad. So I decided to get one and give it a try.
I like it and I don't like it
It's backup software week.
I took advantage of the MacUpdate software bundle that was offered to me in an e-mail this week. My reasons for taking advantage of the bundle was to get Toast 10 for a lower price – $49.00. Little did I know that within the Toast application suite, there is a backup program called "Get Backup Pro 2.4.1"
An associate of mine contacted me and said he wanted me to evaluate a backup program this same week. The name of this program is "Shadow 5" for the Mac
So I have 2 backup programs to check out and report on. I will get back to you in the near future and fill you in on what I found out about these backup software packages.
Got a big Figure Skating competition this weekend so this will be a short blog today. Now that does mean you should short yourself a backup this weekend. Remain consistant and you'll be ready if and when data disaster strikes.
Musical Interlude
This video has nothing at all to do with backup. It's a great shot video in black and white. The song is also darn enjoyable as well.
Radio Sounds Good to Me
There will not be an "Internet Advisor" this weekend. It's preempted by MSU Football. We will be back on Saturday 9/25/2010. I will be with Ed, Gary and Foster. Tune in then.
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