As promised, the second of an occasional series of various hints and tips on getting the most out of your mac. Instead of the show focussing on a single piece of software or subject, I mix it up with several unrelated hints and tips on various aspects of using a mac. Each tip is directly accessible via chapter marks so you can either watch all the tips in sequence or jump straight to the tip you'd like.

This week, the tips include:

Numbers and OS X: Easily set up OS X keyboard shortcuts to access your most commonly used menu items. I found a few frustrations in switching over from Excel in that my normal keyboard shortcuts were not available in Numbers. A few clicks later and I was able to replicate them in Numbers and boost my productivity at a stroke! The really neat thing is that you can use the same technique for creating your own customised keyboard shortcuts in all your favourite applications.
Numbers: Another frustration was the absence of the Excel command for "Convert to Columns" to convert imported CSV files. Whenever I imported CSV (Comma Separated Variable) files, they didn't format properly! The answer was blindingly obvious and you'll kick yourself if this has been tripping you up too. All is revealed in this weeks show.
Safari: Despite all the choices we have as mac users with a plethora of browsers, I still keep coming back to Safari as my browser of choice. It's fast, fully compliant and integrates fully with the iPhone. Safari also has some pretty nifty features on how it handles tabs, windows and bookmarks including integration with address book. This section alone gives half a dozen tips on getting the most out of Safari
iTunes: Following on from the recent show covering iTunes 8, another feature is the inclusion of artwork for Genres in Album view. It can get a bit messy when you have none standard genres and no artwork. This tip shows you how to access a free utility to manage and update your iTunes genres artwork plus gives you access to some free genre artwork via Flickr.
OS X, Launchbar, Google Translate: This tip allows you to set up your mac to do virtually instant translation of foreign language text snippets. Frustrated by not being able to follow my non English speaking friends on Twitter, this tip shows you how to use Launchbar and the Google Translate service to quickly and easily translate virtually any language to any other language using a few simple keystrokes. Even if you're not a Launchbar user, you can still utilise copy and paste and the Google Translate service to accomplish this but not as impressively!

Links:
iGenres
Genres Flickr Pool
Iconaholic blog
Radio Lingua Network
Cava and Twitts
Launchbar
Previous ScreenCastsOnline Launchbar Tutorials
Google Translate Service

Discussions: Forum

Extra! Members Version formats	1280x720 - Full HD Resolution 1280x720 - Full HD Resolution with overscan 960x540 - HD Resolution 640x480 - iPod and iPhone Resolution All versions with embedded chapter markings and available via iTunes, Miro or by direct download from the Extra! members site
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Tags: Launchbar, itunes, Safari, Numbers

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

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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Tags: Wordprocessing, iWork

More iWork 08 goodness this week as I take a look at some of the new features in Keynote 08, Apples fantastic presentation application.

Keynote 3 was great but Apple have added in some additional features that really take Keynote to the next level. It's one of those applications that make you thankful you're a Mac user and might even just make those business users sitting on the fence make the final leap!

There is already a full ScreenCastsOnline tutorial on Keynote 3 covering some of the basic functionality so this week's show focusses on the new and improved elements within Keynote 08. The show also takes a more advanced approach on how you can configure the new features to create even more sophisticated and impressive effects!

This weeks show includes:

• Introduction & New Effects
• Smart Builds
• Integrating Smart Builds with Bullet Points
• Instant Alpha
• Creating Animations
• Presenters Display Setup & Usage
• Adding an Audio Narration
• Exporting & Printing

This weeks show is an Extra Members show and is available in Apple TV HD format (1280x720), Enhanced Desktop ED Format (960x540) and iPhone/iPod resolution (640x360). For full details on how easy it is to become an Extra! member and get this show along with the next six months worth of weekly shows PLUS access to over 110+ Mac based tutorials, just follow this link.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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Straight into the good stuff this week with an in-depth look at all the major features of Numbers, the spectacular new spreadsheet application included in Apples iWork '08 suite.

This weeks show covers all the bases including:

• Introduction to Numbers
• Data Entry and Formatting
• Charts, Text and Shapes
• Images, Masking & Instant Alpha
• Printing
• Exporting to iWeb

I'm really pleased how this weeks show turned out and judging by some of the comments on the ScreenCastsOnline forum, I'm not the only one....

"I just don't know how you do this; it is brilliant.  I probably got my iLife a day earlier than yours (I have a son who is a director in Apple!!) and I have spent a couple of hours with it but your skill in absorbing a brand new product and communicating its essence is really something special.  You have just saved me 'hours' of work!! .....
 
Again Don, just a wonderful show and an abolute eye-opener in Numbers.....
 
Great app, great show!! many thanks."

Ron - A ScreenCastsOnline Extra! Member

This weeks show is an Extra Members show and is available in Apple TV HD format (1280x720), Enhanced Desktop ED Format (960x540) and iPhone/iPod resolution (640x360). For full details on how easy it is to become an Extra! member and get this show along with the next six months worth of weekly shows PLUS access to over 110+ Mac based tutorials, just follow this link.

Discussions: Forum
Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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