SCO0162 - Bee Docs Timeline & Timeline 3D

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This week, I combine an application tutorial together with a real life example on how I've used it to create my presentation at this weeks New Media Expo.

The application is Bee Docs Timeline and Timeline 3D Edition - a fantastic Mac application that allows you to create beautiful timelines for printing, publishing, presenting or exporting as HD quality movies.

The main thrust of my New Media Expo presentation is a description of the journey I've taken since starting ScreenCastsOnline back in August 2005. Obviously, I settled on Keynote as the application to put the basic presentation together, but I needed something to create the central element of the presentation - the timeline. After being switched on to Bee Docs timeline by my good buddy, David Sparks of MacSparky.com, it became apparent straightway that this was the ideal application. Once I saw the 3D capabilities of the application, I was sold, and as for being able to export in HD Quicktime format so I could integrate with Keynote, well it doesn't get much better!

Interestingly, Bee Docs Timeline is not just restricted to pure chronology and has a whole bunch of importers built in to access different types of data and present them as a timeline, allowing you to view information in ways you may never have considered before.

So this weeks show (and it's a long one) takes you through:
  • Creating a Simple Timeline
  • Manually creating events on the timelime
  • Formatting your timeline
  • Printing
  • Importing Events from iCal
  • Importing Events from RSS
  • Exporting your timeline to PDF
  • Why a 3D Timeline?
  • Exporting your Timeline to Keynote
  • Exporting your timeline to Quicktime
  • Integrating your Quicktime Movie with Keynote
This weeks show has been sponsored by Bee Docs and a 25% discount code is available on the standard, 3D edition and upgrades from August 14th through September 30th 2008 - use coupon code: SAVE25

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
Free Version Formats 960x540 - HD with overscan - Download
640x480 - iPod and iPhone Resolution - Download

No embedded chapters and only available via iTunes or Miro.

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Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

To View the Full Free Show
Subscribe to either the free versions of the shows in iTunes, and have this show plus subsequent free shows delivered to your computer each week by clicking the links below!
Free High Definition version of the show in iTunes or Free iPod version of the show in iTunes

Watch a low resolution version of this show from this web page - Just click the video below







SCO0152 - Evernote for Mac - Part 2

Applications
Following on from last weeks Extra! members only show, this week is a free show and 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!

Evernote Invites? Share yours here or see if there are some spares!

Discussions: Forum

As from this weeks show, there are some changes to the free versions of the show.
  • The free version of the show will be released a few days after the members versions of the show - I'll not be releasing the free version of the show (still every other week) until the following Monday. This will mean that Extra! members will still get each show on the Friday, but non-members will have to wait a couple of days to receive the show.
  • Changes to the format of the free version of the show - As from this week, I'm going to change the available resolutions from 1280x720 overscan to 960x540 overscan plus iPod resolution for all future free versions of the show
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
Free Version Formats 960x540 - HD with overscan
640x480 - iPod and iPhone Resolution

No embedded chapters and only available via iTunes or Miro.

Become a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! Member
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

To View the Full Free Show
Subscribe to either the free versions of the shows in iTunes, and have this show plus subsequent free shows delivered to your computer each week by clicking the links below!
Free High Definition version of the show in iTunes or Free iPod version of the show in iTunes

Watch a low resolution version of this show from this web page by clicking on the video below.







SCO0151 - Evernote for Mac - Part 1 [Extra! Only]

Applications
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.

Evernote Invites? Share yours here or see if there are some spares!

Discussions: Forum

Become a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! Member
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

This weeks full show is only available to ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members. A trailer for the full show is in preparation.

To View the Trailer
Subscribe to either the free versions of the shows in iTunes, and have this show plus subsequent free shows delivered to your computer each week by clicking the links below!
Free High Definition version of the show in iTunes or Free iPod version of the show in iTunes

Watch a low resolution version of this show from this web page by clicking on the video below.







SCO0141 - ScheduleOnce [Extra Only]

Scheduleonce
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! - ScheduleOnce

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!
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



SCO0140 - ScreenSteps and ScreenSteps Live

Screensteps icon
ScreenSteps is a great application from Blue Mango Learning Systems that makes creating, annotating and publishing instructions or task based documentation a breeze. Now although ScreenCasts are a brilliant way to get across complex information, sometimes there's no substitute for step by step instruction manuals with clear screenshots and good, consise instructions. The problem with creating "printed" documentation is that it can be difficult to assemble and can go out of date very easily requiring Herculean effort to update. And as for trying to keep on top of changes to videos - forget it!

Screensteps is cross platform application for both the Mac and Windows, which allows you to create libraries of "lessons", each lesson being a step by step process covering whatever tasks you want to document. Available in both a free version and a pay for version, the application has comprehensive tools built right in for screen capture and image annotation to easily and quickly build up step based documentation. Once you've created your lessons, ScreenSteps also has some powerful export functions that allow you export your lessons in either customised PDF or HTML format (in the pay for version) or even directly to a hosted ScreenSteps Live web service (included in the free version as well as the paid for version).

As well as exporting individual lessons, ScreenSteps allows you to organise your lessons into topics and sections, allowing you to create individual PDF files or HTML output containing an entire Library of lessons complete with a table of contents and easy navigation. The PDF version collates all your lessons into a multi page PDF whilst the HTML output provides all the code you need to upload to your website for online documentation.

If you're not sure about uploading HTML files to your website (or if you don't have a website) be sure to check out Part 2 of this ScreenSteps show where I'll be taking a look at ScreenSteps Live, a free service to host your ScreenSteps lessons. ScreenSteps Free and ScreenSteps Live are tightly integrated and it's really easy to export your lessons directly and automatically to ScreenSteps Live from within ScreenSteps.

As well as the free options, there are Standard and Pro versions of ScreenSteps which allow you to export locally to PDF and HTML so once you've tried the package, you can upgrade to get the full features.

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

Part 1 - ScreenSteps Desktop Application



Part 2 - ScreenSteps Live



SCO0128 - Leopard - iCal (Part 2) [Extra! Only]

App
Another Members show this week and it's part 2 of the iCal tutorial. In this weeks episode, I look at some of the more advanced capabilities of iCal that make it such a powerful planning and sharing tool. In addition, I also take a look at some third party tools that enable you to extend the capabilities of iCal and also integrate and syncronise with Google Calendar.

The show covers:
  • Time Zone Support
  • Sharing Calendars including
  • Exporting
  • Publishing
  • Subscribing
  • Syncronising Calendars including
  • .Mac Sync
  • iPhone Sync
  • Third Party Integration
  • BusySync for sharing iCal calendars
  • Spanning Sync for integration with Google Calendar
Don't forget that the members version of the show has embedded chapters so you can go straight to the section that you want or easily skip sections.

LInks mentioned in this weeks show:

ScreenCastsOnline Forums
The MacBites Podcast
BusySync - See update below
Spanning Sync

Update 31/12/07 - In case you were not aware, BusySync has just been upgraded to sync across the WAN (ie via Macs connected across the Internet not just the local LAN). The press release can be found here. If you're interested in learning how to configure the new WAN features, see this section of the user's guide.

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 120+ 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


SCO0126 - Leopard - iCal (Part 1) [Extra! Only]

App
I've been holding off doing a show on iCal for a while now, but I'm glad I did. Leopard and the iPhone has brought a new lease of life to iCal, the calendar application included with Mac OS X.

Under the hood, there's a ton of cool and really useful features that now make iCal a credible and reliable tool to help you plan, organise and share your busy schedule.

In fact, there's so much stuff to cram in, I've had to split the show into two parts! In this first part, I cover:
  • iCal User Interface Basics
  • Creating and Managing Calendars
  • Calendar Groups
  • Creating and Editing Events
  • Setting up Mail for iCal invitations
  • Using Invitations to Setup Meetings
  • Mail Integration
  • Using Data Detectors in Mail
  • Setting up To Dos via Mail
Part 2 will be along shortly looking at some of the more advanced features of iCal.

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 120+ 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



SCO0100 - The 100th Show - Elgato turbo.264 & OmniPlan

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Yes, the 100th show!

Thanks for all the support and good wishes from everyone which has made reaching this milestone possible!

This week is a double episode covering two very distinctly different product areas.

Elgato turbo.264 Video Encoder - The first is the new hardware based H.264 video encoder from Elgato. This innocuous and inexpensive piece of kit plugs into a spare USB 2 port on your Mac and turbocharges your H.264 video encoding with amazing results. If you do any amount of video encoding for your iPod or Apple TV you must watch this screencast!

You'll be amazed at how cheaply you can double, treble or even quadruple your video encoding speed, even on an older Mac!

Product Link

omniplan
OmniPlan - The second part of the screencast is all about the Project Management application OnmniPlan from Omni Group. I don't usually cover business based applications in ScreenCastsOnline, so this is a bit of an experiment. If you like it, let me know and I'll cover some more business applications.

OmniPlan is another of those Omni Group applications that just works and make planning on the Mac a pleasure!

The screencast covers the basic UI and functions of OmniPlan and leads you through making a simple project plan. I also cover some of the exporting features on OmniPlan.

As mentioned in the screencast, you can get a 10% discount of the usual price of OmniPlan by using the coupon code SCREENCASTPLAN when buying via the online store (valid up to 15th July 2007.

Product Link

As mentioned in the show, as a celebration of the 100th episode, I'm releasing both the Hi Definition version (1280x720) and the Enhanced Definition (960x540) for freedownload together with a time limited offer of a discounted Extra! membership offer. Please follow this link to download the HD shows and check out the details of the discounted membership offer.

Discussions: Forum