Category: news

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Adobe CreatePDF

One of the nice things I remember moving from mainly using Windows to Mac was that OS X had PDF creation built into the operating system. As a result I was no longer reliant on Adobe Acrobat for creating PDFs. Now don’t get me wrong, Adobe Acrobat is a really powerful application and for professional proofing and printing I still use it, however for quickly creating PDFs to send via e-mail or put on the VLE, it was like using an articulated truck to deliver newspapers!

Of course when sending stuff to printers it makes much more sense if they can’t accept InDesign to send them a high quality PDF and the options available in Acrobat are there when you need them.

Of course when you are only “delivering newspapers” then the PDF creation built into OS X is more than adequate and enough for most people.

So it’s interesting to see that Adobe have bought a PDF creation tool, Adobe CreatePDF, to iOS devices.

Adobe CreatePDF brings the same high-quality PDF creation as Adobe Acrobat to your iPad, iPhone and other iOS devices.

Some apps I have used on iOS do allow you to create PDFs, Pages for example allows you to send your Pages document to someone via e-mail as a PDF. However DocumentsToGo which can create Word documents doesn’t allow me to send as PDF via e-mail. Of course of you receive a Word document or similar via e-mail and then want to pass onto someone as PDF, it can be a bit of a hassle to open it in Pages, convert to PDF and then send it. I suspect it may impact on the formatting of the document too.

For these kinds of things I see a use for Adobe CreatePDF, it could be useful for that. You will need a decent internet connection though, as the PDF creation doesn’t happen on the device, the app uses Adobe’s online services to create the PDF, so it sends the document to Adobe’s servers, does all the processing online and sends you back a PDF of your document. They say this is to ensure a high quality PDF, which is why you are buying this app I guess.

I am sure the £6.99 price though will stop a fair few people from buying the app, but Adobe do have a reputation for expensive software, the PC version of Acrobat for example is £301.89 from Amazon. Does £6.99 sound too expensive now?

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Android Screengrabbing Failure

Reading a tweet recently from an Android user that a recent update to their phone now allowed them to make screengrabs. Alas that is still not the case with the Google Nexus One.

I was pleased to hear that Skitch, the screen grabbing app that I use on my Mac was coming to Android, disappointed to find out that it doesn’t actually take screenshots.

At the moment I am using the Android SDK to take screenshots, which is workable, but not when you are in the field. I recently for example needed to take some screenshots of a photo app, the only way I could do it was by pointing the camera at photos on the screen of my Mac! Not very authentic and didn’t really demonstrate the power of the camera app.

I am hoping that Google will realise the value of screenshots and how easy it is on the iPhone and make it part of Android in the future.

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Making silly images with Motion FX

If you like Photobooth on your Mac then you are probably going to like Motion FX.

This free app uses your iSight camera in your Mac to which you can add visual effects based on movement, faces, mouse movements or movement in general.

Autodesk® Motion FX lets you create stunning real-time video effects using your computer’s camera.

Simply select your favorite preset effect, and create an incredible visual experience by moving in front of your computer’s camera. A preset cycling mode lets you automatically cycle through effects without lifting a finger. You can also use the Face Tracking technology of OS X Lion to emit effects from any faces visible to your camera.

If you want more personalization, there are more options you can play with in Motion FX. Color Detection lets you select a color from the live camera feed from which to emit effects, and with Effect Paint you can play with fluids using your trackpad or mouse. Video Warp mode lets you distort live video using your mouse or trackpad.

There is a live video effect, but unlike Photobooth you can only capture snapshots.

Not sure if there are any actual useful uses for this app, but you (or your kids) may have some fun using it.

Get Motion FX in the App Store.

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Roaring and Trackpadding

Having now used Lion OS X much more I am still getting use to the gesture interface through the Trackpad.

I did try “natural” scrolling for a while, but in the end, and I am sure partly because I still use Snow Leopard on a regular basis, I had to turn it off.

If you are wondering what “natural” scrolling is, well Apple decided that in OS X we had to use the same scrolling technique that was used on the iPad. On the iPad you generally “pull” the page up and “push” it down, so if you move your finger up the page the document scrolls down, and if you move your finger down the page the document scrolls up. This is completely the opposite to how the trackpage on existing Snow Leopard Macs work, likewise if you have a scroll wheel on your Mac. Then if you push up, you expect the page to go up and if you pull down you expect the page to go down.

So though “natural” scrolling feels somewhat natural on the iPad, I don’t like it that much on a trackpad on a Mac. I am sure if all my Macs (home and work) were Lion then I probably would go with “natural” scrolling however as my main Mac at home and the one at work are still Snow Leopard I am sticking with “unnatural” scrolling!

The use of three finger gestures to move around the desktop and applications is something that I feel should be smooth and effortless, however as not all the applications are use are full screen capable I have found it to be less than satisfactory when moving from a full screen application such as Safari to Chrome, or from Pages to Twitter. I am finding it confusing for example when I have two instances of Safari running in full screen mode. This can happen if I open a link in a new window rather than a new tab. Still haven’t also got the hang of Mission Control in finding what I have open, I think I actually prefer the chaos of the older Expose when every window was displayed… Though I do quite like how the three finger gesture upwards brings up Mission Control. Must remember to use that more often!

The four finger gestures for opening Launchpad take a little getting use to and if you have a small trackpad (and big fingers) you have to carefully do the gesture otherwise I have found it doesn’t work for me.

So far I am not that impressed or that contented with the gesture interface and the trackpad. Likewise the Lion additions of Launchpad and Mission Control are still taking some getting use to.

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Skitch is Free

I have been using Skitch for a while now and more so more recently for making screengrabs, annotating screengrabs and for sharing them.

I have had the free version since it came out and due to my increased usage was considering buying the $20 plus version that has a few more features.

Well as of today, Skitch has been bought by Evernote and as a result the plus version is now free.

So if you have been sharing screengrabs and want more than just the built in version in OS X then get Skitch.

Get Skitch now in the Mac App Store.

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Annoying Sonix SN9C201 Webcam iTunes Error

I’ve been having the following iTunes error for a while now.

Generally I ignore it and reopen iTunes. It’s not as though I even have a Sonix SN9C201 Webcam anyway….

After a little bit of internet research it would appear that the problem is when installing Skype that app throws a Sonix SN9C201 Webcam file into ~/Library/Quicktime and if you delete that file, that fixes the problem.

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Connectivity Issues

For the first time in ages my internet fell over. I can’t actually recall the last time it did something like this.

The first I knew about it was a web page failing to load on my MacBook. I assumed at first it was the website… then I checked the MacBook and noticed an Airport issue. I then opened the Airport Utility to find that my Airport Extreme was having a few problems and showing an orange light in the utility. I found though I could restart it from the Utility, which told me that it was very likely not going to be the problem. Generally if I have an issue with the Airport Extreme, the only real solution is a hard reboot, i.e. turning it off and back on again.

In the end the problem I decided must lie with the Modem, so I unplugged it, counted to ten and then plugged it back in again. Within about 30 seconds all was back to normal and I could surf the web without any problems. Not sure of the reason for the failure, probably either an issue with my ISP, or an issue with BT. However as I said it happens very rarely and I think this is only the second time since I had FTTC installed that the connection has gone down. No real concerns, as rebooting the modem has fixed the issue. Will make a note though just in case (this is it, this blog post).

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Foursquared Out

I can probably blame (thank) David for this.

I am now no longer using Foursquare and no longer checking in to places. Though depressingly at the time of writing I am still the Mayor of Morrisons!

After having a podcast discussion with David about it (over on the e-Learning Stuff Blog) I did question why I was using Foursquare, what I was getting out of it, and potential benefits to me. I also wondered what educational benefits there were with learners using such a service within college.

To be honest apart from the satisfaction in “earning” badges I didn’t really see much benefit from using Foursquare. Very few of my “local” friends were using it, so even if did check-in to my local Costa, as none of my friends were using it, I wouldn’t know they were there…. well I guess I could just look round!

At the end of the day, for me it was a game, that wasn’t really that entertaining and when the GPS failed to lock on was quite frustrating. After chatting with David, I started to use it less and then just stopped. Not missed it at all.

There is probably something to be said to learners checking into college and seeing if their friends are there, or their co-collaborators and meeting up, but not sure if Foursquare is the best tool for that. At least with something like Places on Facebook there is chat built in too.

So are you still on Foursquare and if so what are you doing with it, or getting out of it?


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How long….

Last night I needed to download a 364MB update file.

I was totally surprised that according to Safari that it was going to take nearly ten hours!

I knew it wasn’t my end as my connection was working fine. I even checked by downloading the 666MB iOS 4.3.5 update from Apple, and though it was nearly twice the size it only took three minutes from the iTunes servers.

Putting it down to the remote server, I left it to download overnight. Reminded me of the time when I was less fortunate and didn’t have the speed of fibre.

Came down the next morning to find that the download had failed to download properly.

So I set it go again, expecting that it would take a fair few hours again…

Nope did it in a couple of minutes!

Putting it down to the remote server having issues last night.

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Podcast Choice #04 – This Week in Photography

I have been asked a fair few times about the different podcasts I listen to. I not only have a lengthy commute to work, but also travel a fair bit for work, so it’s vital to me to have something to listen to. This series will discuss and review the different podcasts I listen to or have listened to. In a previous blog post I spoke about the why and how I listen to podcasts, now we look at the actual podcasts I listen to.

This week’s podcast is This Week in Photography.

Join Alex Lindsay, Frederick Van Johnson, and friends each week as they discuss camera technique, technology, and news. With in-depth guest interviews, and discussion around everything from taking family photos, to understanding how state-of-the-art cameras work — you’ll hear it all on This Week in Photography.

Despite the name, this podcast is not from the Twit stable, but does feature some Twit regulars, which is how I heard about it.

I do like taking photographs, but compared to some people I know such as Mark Power, Ian Dolphin and Rob Stillwell I know very little about taking photographs.

What I like about this podcast is that it tells me about what’s new in photography as well tips and tricks on taking better photographs.

This podcast is aimed at people who already know about taking photographs and certainly isn’t recommended for those who are just starting out in photography as I am sure you will get lost. Hey I think I know something about photography and even I get lost in this podcast sometimes.

If you are interested in what new photography technologies are coming out, what professionals use to take photographs, tips and tricks to taking better photographs and tools and technologies to improve photographs through software.

Subscribe to TWiP on the iTunes Store.