Saturday, January 30, 2010

What's on MY iPhone?

Lower Bar
  • Phone
  • Mail
  • Calendar
  • Safari
Page 1 - Utilities
  • Messages
  • Contacts
  • Calculator
  • Units
  • iPod
  • Notes
  • 1Password
  • Settings
  • FAC
  • App Store
  • Clock
  • Night Stand
Page 2 - Projects, File Managment, Databases, IM
  • TSheets
  • Toodledo
  • Recorder
  • Voice Memos
  • Air Sharing
  • Dropbox
  • Bento
  • iOwn
  • Skype
  • Echofon
  • AIM
  • Y! Messenger
  • IM+ Lite
  • Dictation
  • VNC
Page 3 - Photography, TV, Music and Sound
  • Camera
  • Photos
  • Picoli
  • Darkslide
  • 12seconds
  • Sketches
  • YouTube
  • TiVo Mobile
  • i.TV
  • Now Playing
  • PhoneFlicks
  • iTunes
  • Pandora
  • Shazam
  • WhiteNoise
  • Effector
Page 4 - Mapping, Reading, Weather
  • Maps
  • Google Earth
  • Locator
  • Stocks
  • StarmapPro
  • MoonMapLite
  • On the Grill
  • SportsTap
  • Instapaper
  • NYTimes
  • Stanza
  • Kindle
  • TWC
  • State College Weather
  • Weather
  • eTextbooks
Page 5 - Entertainment
  • Sudoku
  • FlightControl
  • Civ Rev
  • Enigmo
  • Hero of Sparta
  • Monopoly Worldwide
  • StoneLoops!
  • Ocarina
  • Flick Fishing
  • Air Hockey
  • Sol Free
  • Tap Tap Revenge
  • Moonlight lite
  • Wild West

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Using Toast and Viddler

I've got a number of TiVo recordings that I want to archive. Right now they are in the .tivo file format and I've used Toast to edit the recordings. I'm experimenting with exporting those files now and I'm using Toast to encode the videos for Apple TV. Toast will only allow for a max resolution of 480 which is fine with me. I selected "high" quality, but I don't know if that'll make a difference. I notice that the estimated file size is over 1 GB with a playback at over 2 Mbps (I think). I'm curious if the file will really be that big. Does the bitrate increase as the resolution decreases? I kind of doubt it. I need the files under 500 MB because they'll just take up too much storage space. So, that's what I'm testing and will just have to see how this ends up. I'll probably re-encode in Toast if the file is too large.

Monday, December 21, 2009

DYI 3-D Video

I saw an interesting episode of "Science of the Movies" on the making of 3-D movies. It got me to thinking about making my own movies. I was thinking of taking two flip cameras (I only have one FlipUltra HD) and mounting them so that their lenses are 2.5 inches apart to replicate the average occular distance. I was wondering if there was a way to create my own anaglyph movies. The part that is really holding me up is how to "publish the video." I'd probably need Final Cut Pro so that I could work with two video tracks (one red and one cyan). After that, I'm not sure. Would I be able to watch that on the iPhone, on my HDTV, on my computer? I'm just going to have to see :-)

Monday, November 30, 2009

FWD: Registration is open for technology training in December

Don’t forget to register for upcoming technology workshops. Seats are still available in the following classes that are scheduled through December 18:

TCP/IP and the OSI Model: Overview
Tuesday, December 1 from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106988

Web 2.0 Browsing, Searching, and Reference Tools: Overview (via Adobe Connect)
Tuesday, December 1 from 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. via Web
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107016

Web 2.0 Browsing, Searching, and Reference Tools: Overview
Tuesday, December 1 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107017

Topics for Teaching: Blogs for Classroom Use (via Adobe Connect)
Tuesday, December 1 from 2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. via Web
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106996

Topics for Teaching: Blogs for Classroom Use
Tuesday, December 1 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106997

Blogs at Penn State: Overview (via Adobe Connect)
Wednesday, December 2 from 8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. via Web
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106883

Blogs at Penn State: Overview
Wednesday, December 2 from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106884

Getting Started with Studiocode
Wednesday, December 2 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in 205 Chambers
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107079

Word 2007: Desktop Publishing ($30)
Friday, December 4 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107034

Setting Up a Home Network: Overview
Friday, December 4 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106987

Topics for Teaching: Adobe Connect Pro for Classroom Use
Wednesday, December 9 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. in 116 Wagner
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106995

Getting Started with Digital Certificates: Securing Personal Data and Online Communications
Wednesday, December 9 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106923

Getting Started with Oracle Calendar
Thursday, December 10 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106927

Word 2007: Mail Merge ($30)
Friday, December 11 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107035

Getting Started with Outlook 2007: E-mail Essentials
Friday, December 11 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106932

VoIP: Advanced Features and Functions
Monday, December 14 from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107005

Getting Started with Videoconferencing
Tuesday, December 15 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in 7A Sparks
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106939

Getting Started with Adobe Connect Pro
Wednesday, December 16 from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in 116 Wagner
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106918

Photoshop CS4: Retouching & Color Correction ($30)
Wednesday, December 16 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106976

VoIP: Telephone Features & Voicemail
Thursday, December 17 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in 23 Willard
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=107013

Blog Your Penn State Home Page (Lunchtime Session)
Friday, December 18 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. in 23 Willard Conference Room
https://register4its.psu.edu/Public/ShowDetail.asp?scheduleid=106880



All scheduled sessions are held at the University Park campus unless otherwise indicated. Please visit the Web site for details and to register for training at http://its.psu.edu/training/ .

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Heather E. Ormsby
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ITS Training Services
The Pennsylvania State University
23 Willard Building
Ph (814) 863-7393
http://its.psu.edu/training

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

GE Skype Phone went down

In general the Skype phone is awesome. We save a lot of money using our Skype phone. I'm not sure we needed to buy two additional handsets, but they're nice to have now that we do have them.

Well they phones work like 98-99% of the time. Sometimes, however the phones get de-registered and it has to do with the phone-router.

This last time was the worst set back we had. Eventually I figured out that the phone-router wasn't getting an IP address from the DHCP server on the wireless router. Basically I shut everything down that connects to the wireless router and then get the phone-router setup first. When the phone-router is working fine, it's easy to register all of the handsets. In fact, it's so easy that I forgot what the actual process was except for following the handset's directions. I didn't even need to do long resets on the phone-router.

I found some interesting information that led me to this solution from:
http://tinyurl.com/y8exmyz

Thursday, August 06, 2009

17" MacBook Pro Backpacks

I've got a new MBP for work and I'm now looking for options.
  • minimal commute - I don't expect to bring my laptop home very often, I mostly need it to move my computer from place to place in the Outreach Building
  • limited travel - I might go on may be one or two business trips a year
  • less than normal capacity - I'd be fine with only about 1000 cu in of additional storage, I don't need a lot of organization pockets--I never used them much anyhow
  • black - I don't want anything flashy, I need something relatively professional-looking
  • cost - my department is buying one for me, but I should keep it less than $125
  • build - relatively high-quality and refined
  • alternative - would be nice to have PV cells, but they're expensive; CCW would be interesting, but not practical
Possible styles:
  1. Messenger bag - a solid possibility since I probably won't be carrying around my laptop very much
  2. Backpack - good all-around choice, more comfortable with heavier loads
  3. Sleeve - great if the 17" MBP fits in my panniers for biking, not my first choice since I don't have a bag now that's big enough for the MBP on a daily basis
  4. Briefcase - classic, but lame
Possible choices:
  1. Timbuk2 Commute 2.0 Messenger Large - $120, 3.2 lb, 17 x 11.5 x 6, great carry-all
  2. Bumbakpak Hamptons - $95, 1386 cu in, cool carrying options for a messenger bag, might be heavy
  3. STM Large Convertible - $60, 17.1 x 12.6 x 3.5 inches, backpack to shoulder strap, great design although it uses velcro for the flaps, minimal storage space
  4. Northface Hot Shot - $89, 2 lb 2 oz, 2000 cu in, doubles well for the trail
  5. Brenthaven Pro - $179, 3.75 lb, 1975 cu in, excellent protection
  6. MacCase Combo - $80, pretty basic, includes a nice sleeve
  7. Targus Groove - $40, 2.75 lb, the price concerns me, looks pretty standard, better than some I've seen
  8. Northface Surge - $115, 2 lb 10 oz, 2150 cu in, kinda large, but fully featured
  9. AXIO Tekno - $180, 5 lb, 18.5”H x 13.5”W x 9”D, cool design, but expensive and very heavy
  10. Incase - decent neoprene sleeve, but nothing else
  11. Booq - nothing
  12. Crumpler - nothing

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Video Streaming Server

What I'm looking to do is transfer recordings from my TivoHD to a streaming server so that I can watch videos on my iPhone organized by directories.

I have been using Roxio's Streamer with great success except:
  • I cannot organize the videos into directories
  • it's sometimes buggy and doesn't let me stream certain videos (it's happened twice)
  • I keep getting an incorrect dialog box asking me if I really want to open an application downloaded by MS Entourage
I have a version of the Apple Darwin Streaming Server and that's been running well except:
  • I cannot convert .tivo video files on my mac into a streaming format
  • I cannot create iPhone streaming formats yet, it doesn't look easy
  • I can only convert programs if they are still on my TiVo
I'm really looking for the best of both worlds:
  • the easy of Roxio's Streamer
  • viewing on an iPhone
  • folder organization
  • and being able to work with .tivo files I've moved to my Mac
Google Search: "mac .tivo transcoding"

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/StreamBaby.shtml
http://www.samuelmcconnell.com/projects/tivodecoder/
http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/showcase/details.php?wid=281
http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/08/11/how-to-install-and-setup-jinzora-streaming-media-server-in-os-x/
http://developer.apple.com/opensource/server/streaming/index.html
http://en.jinzora.com/downloads/jinzora_releases/28