HowTo trim a Flip Video clip with FlipShare

If you using FlipShare to manage your video clips shot with your flip camera, then you have probably run across the need to trim the video clip down to extract a section of the video.

Trimming a video using the FlipShare application is very easy as I'll show in this post.

• Start up your FlipShare application and select the video clip that you want to trim
• To trim the video, click on the scissors icon at the bottom right of the video clip

•  Once you click the scissors, you will be presented with a small edit window that has two tabs on the bottom of the video slider.  Move the left tab to change where the starting position of the clip will be.  move the right tab to change where the ending position of the clip will be.  You can slide the whole tab or click the arrow buttons to move one frame at a time (there are approximately 30 frames per second, so clicking the buttons can be slow).   Play around with the tab positions to get your clip just right.

• Once you have the clip just right, select the Save button, which will over-write the original clip with your trimmed clip, or select Save As, to save a copy of the clip.  If you wish to cancel the operation, just click the Close button without saving the clip.

Thumbmarks Visual Bookmark Gadget for iGoogle and web sites

I just completed my first Google Gadget.  The gadget, called Thumbmarks displays bookmarks from social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious, Diigo, Reddit and StumbleUpon.

I wrote the gadget because I use Delicious alot, but wanted to be able to SEE my links with thumbnails (got the idea from the Google Chrome browser.

The gadget is listed in Google's directory so you can search for "thumbmarks" or "visual bookmarks" and you should find it.

The project is Open Source and its project page is at http://code.google.com/p/visual-bookmarks/wiki/Home

Below is a screenshot of the Gadget which can display the links in an iPhone like theme or in standard iGoogle theme.

Check out my Delicious Links related to this post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/gadget

Howto Upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard

I completed my upgrade to Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) on Friday (driving by the Apple Store twice was more than my restraint could take) and it is very easy to say that writing this HowTo will take more time than I spent on the install of Snow Leopard.

The total install time was about 1.5 hours, but I less than 3 minutes (including screen shots).  I started at 22:26:55 per the first screen shot and entered the admin password to start file copying at 22:28:16.  A blazing  2 minutes and 15 seconds.  And if you are wondering, those screen shots are the actuals from the install, not ones taken afterwards for this post.

Here are the step by step instructions.
1. If you don't use Time Machine (shame on you) then make sure you have a good backup.  If you use Time Machine,  you should be covered.
2. Insert the Snow Leopard Install DVD.  You will be presented with the following window.  Double click the Install Mac OS X icon to start.

3. At the next screen, you can simply press continue, unless you want to access any of the utilities (including Disk Utilities) which you may need if you are doing a clean install, but for Snow Leopard, an Upgrade over your current operating system is the recommendation from Apple and is what this HowTo assumes.

4. After pressing continue, the installer will search for your hard disk.

5. You may want to check out the optional components to install.  To display the optional components, select the Customize button.  For my install,  I deselected Language Translations to save some disk space.  If you have older Mac applications, you may want to select Rosetta.

6. Once you have chosen your options, you can go back to the install screen.  Select the Install button and you will be presented with an authentication box.  Type in your administration user name and password, click OK and the install will proceed without further input required from you.  At the completion of the upgrade, your mac will reboot and you will be running Snow Leopard.

Post Install Notes.
For the most part every application I have works, except Microsoft Sync, which does not seem to be able to connect to the Microsoft Sync Web Site.

Some applications, such as Mail, will perform an upgrade the first time you start them, and certain other items (for example the iPhoto based screen saver settings I use) may need to be tweaked.

But overall, you can expect a simple, painless upgrade that leaves you with a faster, more robust operating system and a few (only a few) handy features.

Snow Leopard is out and why I'm choosing to upgrade

Apple's Lastest Version of Mac OS X (10.6), known as Snow Leopard, releases today.

I don't know how soon I'll upgrade, but at $29, I will definitely be upgrading.  As with any upgrade, you should make sure you are getting your moneys worth.

With a $29 price tag, that should be pretty easy, but the four features for me that I am looking forward to (and using to justify the $29) are:

• 64-Bit and Grand Central Multiprocessing ... This provides what apparently is a significant performance boost.  Since my Mac Mini is over 2 years old, any performance boost is a welcomed addition.
• Quick Time X.  This update to quicktime has a few nicities that will make dealing with video clips easier.  With my new Flip camera and every cell phone and digital still camera able to take video clips, the ability to quickly trim and share these right from Quick Time without pulling up iMovie will be a benefit.  Also, Quick Time X has a feature that allows you to record your screen (screencast) without using third party apps.  
• Built-in Cisco VPN support.  A nice features that eases the use of a Mac in todays business environment, wether it is just for logging in using my home Mac, or perhaps helping with the introduction of Macs for work, we will see.
• Exchange Support.  Like the Cisco support, this is a push at helping to integrate the Mac into thw workplace.  Even though I won't be taking my Mini to work, this is a feature that I desire for the future, so I'll chip in a bit now.
  

The Flip Video and Battery Pack Charging

I just got a new Flip Ultra HD, and it is a pretty nice piece of technology, small size, HD resolution, 2 hrs of video and it supports both a rechargable battery pack as well as being able to use AA batteries. In general, I am very happy with my new Flip (http://theflip.com/).

 

I have been having a specific problem though, and it is related to charging the Flip via it's USB connector.  Typically when I have gone to charge the Flip, I often get an error message stating

"Charging has been paused, please check battery pack".

This is very frustrating, and reduces my confidence in the product.  I contacted technical support and they responded with the following:

If your battery pack is not charging properly, please try the following:

1. remove the battery pack from the camcorder
2. connect the camcorder to a powered USB port on your computer
3. when the "Connected" indicator comes on, insert the battery pack into the camcorder
4. safe eject your camcorder from your computer
5. reconnect your camcorder to your computer
6. the battery pack should now begin to charge within the camcorder

 So I tried this and it seems to resolve the issue on my Dell laptop, however the issue periodically persists on my Mac Mini. 

 

I contacted Tech Support again and they are suggesting that the Flip needs to be replaced and has sent an RMA.  I have hesitated to complete that request for a few reasons, I want to confirm that they will be sending a new Flip and not a refurbished one and I want to try a few more tests to make sure it is not some other random problem with other devices connected to the USB that are consuming too much power, causing the charge not to happen.

 

Stay tuned

 

 

 

 

It's Happened ... Google Officially in the OS Business

Yesterday Google announced in their blog that they are developing a linux kernal based operating system that they are calling Chrome.

This will be a separate os from Android ... Google's OS for smart phones.

Oh the Waiting. Migrating from GPC to Google Sites

Well it's June 4th, and I have temporarily decided to let Google migrate my site from GPC to Google Sites.

There are two main reasons, and I suspect that the migration will be temporary.

1. I am curious ... so How will Google migrate the site, and what will it look like when they are done?

2. I have some other sites that have linked to some of the content and drive a fair percentage of my traffic. As I have noted in some of my comparisons, with GPC, google does not append a file extension to the GPC URL (i.e. http://www.timalosi.com/about) whereas sites like Weebly.com and Officelive.com both utilize extensions and return 404 errors when you pass them a GPC style URL.

So ... for now I wait for Google to work some form of minor magic. Curious for the results.

Check out my delicious links related to this post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc

Alternatives to Google Page Creator - Weebly

Weebly Comparison
With Google Page Creator being eliminated, I have decided to do a quick comparison of Google Page Creator (GPC) and Weebly.com . I have put this together to aid in making a decision on where to migrate my Google Page Creator site to.

This comparison is not exhaustive, but centered around the key features of GPC


Weebly.com is a free, web based web hosting site.  By web based, I mean that you can create and edit your pages with only a browser.  Similar to how GPC used to work.


For the purpose of this comparison, I will just be looking at Weebly.com's free web page hosting (They have a paid version as well).

Feature Comparison
Branding
Item	Google Page Creator	Weebly
Domain Name Integration	Your domain name was used as the root for all pages	Your Domain Name can be used as the root for your web pages.
FavIcon	You can brand your site with a FavIcon using simple Javascript	You can brand your site with a FavIcon using simple Javascript
Themes	Each page could have a different theme and with CSS you had pretty fine control over presentation of the site.	You need to select a theme and color scheme for your entire site. However, you can create your own theme with the included editor using CSS.
Technology
Item	Google Page Creator	Weebly.com
Javascript	Javascript is allowed on pages.	Javascript is allowed on pages
CSS	You can integration custom CSS files using Javascript to direct the client to load the file.	You can create site wide CSS code in the editor without requiring javascript
Google Analytics	You can add Analytics via javascript. You have control over how each page is tracked.	You can add Analytics via javascript. You have control over how each page is tracked.
Google Adsense	You can add Adsense ad blocks via javascript	You can add Adsense ad blocks via javascript or using the built in Adsense page element
Google Gadgets	Supported	You can add google gadgets
Google Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded file.	Supported via meta tag.
Other Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded files.	Supported via meta tag addition with javascript.
Static Files	Can upload files via HTTP to root directory. Cannot make sub directories. Can upload pages you created in other web design tools (i.e. iWeb)	Can upload via HTTP into a File Page Element.  Supports all multimedia file types and others.  Site visitors may be able to see the files depending on permissions.
Limits	Maximum Files = 500 Maximum Space = 100 MB Maximum File Size = 10 MB Themes = 41	Maximum Space = ?? MB Maximum File Size = ?? MB Themes = Unique combinations > 500
Google Docs Integration	Integration via Google Gadgets	Integration via Google Gadgets
Editor
Item	Google Page Creator	Officelive.com
Tables	You can create tables manually with HTML code	You can create tables manually with HTML code
Page Layout	Supports 5 Page Layouts	Supports 2 Page Layouts
Navigation	Create your own navigation and breadcrumbs and sitemaps.	Automatically creates navigation, breadcrumbs and sitemaps. NOTE: The built in navigation is done with scripting, so I recommend that you add some standard links to help search engines index your pages.
Comments	Cannot incorporate comments from visitors	Cannot incorporate comments from visitors (But you can include Blog Pages)

Summary
Weebly.com has a comparable list of features that Google Pages had, and it is priced the same (free). In addition, if you are using Google Apps for Domains, you can point your domain to Weebly.


In general, if you are finding that Google Sites (see my post on a Google Sites comparison) does not have what you are looking for, Weebly.com seems like a very good alternative.

Note:  If you site contains many cross links, GPC pages did not have a file extension at the end (i.e. http://www.timalosi.com/about) where as weebly uses a .html extension and links without the extension will return a 404 error.  (This is most unfortunate)

Related Posts:
GPC to Office Live Comparision
GPC to Google Sites Comparision

Review my Delicious Links related to this Post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc

Alternatives to Google Page Creator - Google Sites Comparison

Google Sites
With Google Page Creator being eliminated, I have decided to do a quick comparison of Google Page Creator (GPC) and Google Sites. I have put this together to aid in making a decision on where to migrate my Google Page Creator site to.

This comparison is not exhaustive, but centered around the key features of GPC

Feature Comparison
Branding
Item	Google Page Creator	Google Sites
Domain Name Integration	Your domain name was used as the root for all pages	Your Domain Name redirects to http://sites.google.com/a/domain by default, but you can map individual Google Sites to different DNS names (i.e. www.yourdomain.com can map to a specific site. This is new, and available for Google Apps for Domain users
FavIcon	You can brand your site with a FavIcon using simple Javascript	No support for FavIcon (except Googles icon)
Themes	Each page could have a different theme and with CSS you had pretty fine control over presentation of the site.	Themes apply to the whole site. You can modify additional properties of the theme like colors and fonts and some background images.
Technology
Item	Google Page Creator	Google Sites
Javascript	Javascript is allowed on pages.	Javascript is NOT allowed on pages
CSS	You can integration custom CSS files using Javascript to direct the client to load the file.	You cannot integrate custom CSS Files
Google Analytics	You can add Analytics via javascript. You have control over how each page is tracked.	You can track whole site with form entry for Analytics Account
Google Adsense	You can add Adsense ad blocks via javascript	Adsense not supported
Google Gadgets	Supported	Supported, but not ones that run Javascript on the client
Google Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded file.	Supported via a form to add the Meta Tag.
Other Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded files.	Not supported. You can add their meta tag, but Google replaces the name with Google's.
Static Files	Can upload files via HTTP to root directory. Cannot make sub directories.	Can upload via HTTP into a file cabinet. Site visitors can see if the file cabinet is visible.
Limits	Maximum Files = 500 Maximum Space = 100 MB Maximum File Size = 10 MB Themes = 41	Maximum Space = 100 MB for non Domain account and 10GB for Google Apps for Domains account Maximum File Size = 10 MB Themes = 23
Google Docs Integration	Integration via Google Gadgets	Good built-in integration via editor
Editor
Item	Google Page Creator	Google Sites
Tables	You can create tables manually with HTML code	Editor includes built in table editor.
Page Layout	Supports 5 Page Layouts	Supports 2 Layouts (with Permanent Side Bar which can be moved left or right - (This makes 4 total layouts))
Navigation	Create your own navigation and breadcrumbs and sitemaps.	Automatically creates navigation, breadcrumbs and sitemaps.
Comments	Cannot incorporate comments from visitors	Can incorporate comments from visitors

Summary
Google Sites seems to be a fair replacement for Google Page Creator with a few exceptions.

1. Branding: If Favicons and tweeks to site presentation using CSS are required
2. Javascript: If there is functionality that requires Javascript
   
3. Adsense: If you want to monetize your site.
   

If you site requires any of these three items, then Google Sites is not a good choice for you. However, if these are not important, then Google Sites is a very easy to use and functional tool set.

Related Posts:
GPC to Office Live Comparision
GPC to Weebly Comparision

Review my Delicious Links related to this Post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc

Alternatives to Google Page Creater - Officelive.com Comparison

Office Live Comparison
With Google Page Creator being eliminated, I have decided to do a quick comparison of Google Page Creator (GPC) and OfficeLive.com . I have put this together to aid in making a decision on where to migrate my Google Page Creator site to.

This comparison is not exhaustive, but centered around the key features of GPC


Officelive.com is a Microsoft web service that is similar to Google Apps for Domains. Officelive.com offers domain tools such as email, document collaboration and blog functionality in addition to web page hosting.


For the purpose of this comparison, I will just be looking at Officelive.com web page hosting.

Feature Comparison
Branding
Item	Google Page Creator	Officelive
Domain Name Integration	Your domain name was used as the root for all pages	Your Domain Name can be used as the root for your web pages.
FavIcon	You can brand your site with a FavIcon using simple Javascript	You can brand your site with a FavIcon using simple Javascript
Themes	Each page could have a different theme and with CSS you had pretty fine control over presentation of the site.	You need to select a theme and color scheme for your entire site. However, you can mix and match as well as use CSS for fine tuning and tweaking.
Technology
Item	Google Page Creator	Officelive.com
Javascript	Javascript is allowed on pages.	Javascript is allowed on pages
CSS	You can integration custom CSS files using Javascript to direct the client to load the file.	You can create site wide CSS code in the editor without requiring javascript
Google Analytics	You can add Analytics via javascript. You have control over how each page is tracked.	You can add Analytics via javascript. You have control over how each page is tracked.
Google Adsense	You can add Adsense ad blocks via javascript	You can add Adsense ad blocks via javascript
Google Gadgets	Supported	You can add google gadgets and microsoft widgets as well
Google Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded file.	Supported via uploaded file or meta tag.
Other Webmasters Tools	Supported via uploaded files.	Supported via uploaded file or meta tag.
Static Files	Can upload files via HTTP to root directory. Cannot make sub directories. Can upload pages you created in other web design tools (i.e. iWeb)	Can upload via HTTP into a Documents gallery and images into a Image gallery. Site visitors may be able to see the files depending on permissions. Can upload pages you created in other web design tools (i.e. iWeb)
Limits	Maximum Files = 500 Maximum Space = 100 MB Maximum File Size = 10 MB Themes = 41	Maximum Space = 30 MB Maximum File Size = ?? MB Themes = Unique combinations > 500
Google Docs Integration	Integration via Google Gadgets	Integration via Google Gadgets
Editor
Item	Google Page Creator	Officelive.com
Tables	You can create tables manually with HTML code	Editor includes built in table editor.
Page Layout	Supports 5 Page Layouts	Supports 11 Page Layouts
Navigation	Create your own navigation and breadcrumbs and sitemaps.	Automatically creates navigation, breadcrumbs and sitemaps. NOTE: The built in navigation is done with scripting, so I recommend that you add some standard links to help search engines index your pages.
Comments	Cannot incorporate comments from visitors	Cannot incorporate comments from visitors

Summary
Officelive.com has all the features (and a few more) that Google Pages had, and it is priced the same (free). In addition, if you are using Google Apps for Domains, you can move your whole domain to office live, or just your web pages.


In general, if you are finding that Google Sites (see my post on a Google Sites comparison) does not have what you are looking for, Officelive.com seems like a very good alternative.

Note: If you site contains many cross links, GPC pages did not have a file extension at the end (i.e. http://www.timalosi.com/about) where as weebly uses a .aspx extension and links without the extension will return a 404 error. (This is most unfortunate)

Related Posts:
GPC to Google Sites Comparision
GPC to Weebly Comparision

Review my Delicious Links related to this Post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc

Google Disappoints by Eliminating Google Page Creator

I was wondering what my next post would be about and, unfortunately, I now have a topic.  I was disappointed yesterday when I went to make some changes to my site (http://www.timalosi.com ) to add preview thumbnails (a topic for another post), and I was informed that my site, which is Google Page Creator based (via Google Apps for Domains) is scheduled for migration to Google Sites.  At first I was, "Well ok, perhaps they are merging functionality?!?", but apparently that is not the case. After a quick search I located the official announcement at http://groups.google.com/group/GPC-How-to/msg/1260f67111144902.    In a word ... disappointed.


Google Sites ... Are they Crazy?
 I do use Google Sites, but in general, I have been underwhelmed by the functionality (more aptly the lack of functionality of Google Sites).


Currently my biggest concerns with Google Sites are:

• Designed more like a collaboration site (ala Sharepoint) than web site, but without most of the better features of Sharepoint.
• Limited layout templates.  Google Page Creator uses the paradigm of a traditional site, and allows you better control over headers and footers.  In general, I find that GPC provides better control over the appearance of the site.
• No javascript or CSS.  This is perhaps the biggest one for me.  I don't use much javascript, but there are some elements that I am unwilling to give up at this time, and CSS and Javascript is important to providing those features.  

So I am faced with a dilemma.  I have embraced Google for much of my basic web presence (Blogger, Google Apps for Domains, Google Page Creator, Google Sites, Analytics, Adsense, Gmail and more), but I simply cannot see loosing the functionality that I currently use.  It looks like I am faced with migrating away from Google Apps for Domains to host my web pages.


So, over the next few weeks, I'll be evaluating my options.  I'll be posting my observations and opinions in some future posts.


Alternatives to Google Page Creator
To start, I am going to take a look at:

• Google Sites (http://sites.google.com ) ... I will take another look to make sure I give them a fair chance.
  
• Microsoft Office Live (http://officelive.com )
  
• Blogger (http://www.blogger.com ) ... I am curious if I can achieve the functionality from this platform.

I will also look for additional alternatives to Google Page Creator


If you are also running a GPC site and would like to petition Google to rethink their decision, check out the online petition at (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/googlepagesalive/).


Check out my Delicious Links related to this post at http://www.delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc 

Living in the Cloud with Microsoft's Live Services

Hey ... I own a Mac ... but I am not anti-Microsoft. I think that they do most things just OK ... for example, OS X is better then Windows as an operating system, Firefox is a better browser than IE, but when it comes to strategy on Web 2.0 and Cloud services, Microsoft has taken on Google and others, and in many aspects, comes out on top!

Specifically, I am talking about two services, Mesh.com and Sync.Live.com. Although these two services have some overlap, I have found that they both have become invaluable tools in my day to day computing.

Mesh.com

The concept behind Mesh.com is that you have a "mesh" of devices, this includes Windows PC's, Mac's, as well as Smart Phones (currently only Microsoft SmartPhone (Windows CE) based devices are supported). Mesh.Com allows you to synchronize files between the devices, as well as remotely control Windows based computers (which is a really neat feature). Mesh.com's main features are described below.

File Synchronization

Mesh.com supports both Peer-to-Peer file synchronization, as well as synchronization to online ("cloud") storage. The Peer-to-Peer synchronization requires both computers to be on at the same time (obviously), whereas the synchronization via the cloud storage allows synchronization to happen at any time. First the file is copied from the source computer to the cloud, then, later, a second computer can synchronize that file from the cloud ... sort of asynchronous synchronization ;-). The synchronization paradigm is based on folders. You can choose which folders on your computer that you want synchronized, and with what computers (or the cloud) you would like the folders synchronized.

File Synchronization Caveats

• On the Mac, you must synchronize via the cloud. Currently there is no Mac Peer-to-Peer support.
  

Cloud Storage

Mesh.com currently provided 5 GB of free online cloud storage. This is significantly larger than other synchronization servers offer for free (syncplicity, dropbox, etc). This storage is used to provide access to files that you have synchronized from any computer, at any time.

Cloud Storage Caveats

• Currently there is no way to increase the storage provided by Mesh.com
  
• No interface with Live.com's Skydrive which provides 25GB of online storage
  
• Although you can access files from the web (Mesh Desktop) you cannot upload files from there and must use synchronization to populate your Cloud storage

Remote Control

With Windows based PC's (from Internet Explorer) you can connect to and take control of your remotely located (also) Windows PC using Mesh.com. OK ... that didn't come out too well. Imagine controlling your PC at home from your computer at work (through firewalls and no VPN, but still secure). This works assuming both PCs are running Windows, and you are using IE as a browser (and have the feature enabled. Anyway, it is super easy to setup and still reasonably secure. Great to get the file you need or (as I often have to do) trouble shoot for the family while away.

Remote Control Caveats

• You need to be running Windows on both sides and you need to be using IE as a browser.
  

Mobile Phones

With Windows Smart Phones (currently) you can load a mobile version of Mesh.com's software. In the mobile version, Mesh can monitor and synchronize folders, for example, monitoring your My Pictures folder so whenever you take a picture with your phone, the picture is automatically uploaded to your Mesh.Com cloud storage.

Mobile Phone Caveats

• You can only synchronize files that are stored in the Cloud storage
• This only works with Windows phones currently.
  

File Sharing

In addition to synchronizing your files, you can also share some of your folders with others, such as setting up a picture folder that the grandparents can see and automatically get copies of pictures downloaded to their computer.

Sync.Live.com

Sync.Live.com, formerly Foldershare.com is very similar to Mesh.com. This seems confusing a bit, since both technologies come from the same company, but perhaps Microsoft will eventually merge the technologies, taking the best of both. Sync.Live.com has a simpler mission in life, synchronize folders between computers. The main features are described below.

File Synchronization

Sync.Live.com supports file synchronization between Windows and Mac computers. Sync.Live.com only supports Peer-to-Peer synchronization, so both computers need to be on at the same time for the synchronization to take place. Sync.Live.com supports up to 20 Folders to be synchronized. Each folder can have upto 20,000 files (total for all folders and sub-folders). The synchronization appears to be quicker and a bit more robust than Mesh.com when syncing very large numbers of files (which I do).

File Synchronization Caveats

• It may not seem like much of a limit, but 20 Folders with 20,000 files is a limit. With almost 18,000 original photos in iPhoto, It takes 3 folders to sync, (originals, data, modified), and that will only last me for another year (until I have over 20,000 originals).
• Since Sync.Live.Com only supports Peer-to-Peer synchronization, both computers need to be on.
  

File System Access

Where as Mesh.com provides remote access and control of computers, Sync.Live.Com provides remote access to the file system, and allows you to access and download any file from your computer via its web page.

Live Photo Gallery Synchronization

Sync.Live.com is embedded in Microsoft Live Essentials Photo Gallery (please note on teh Mac this link will redirect you to Microsoft's Mac Download page :-p) that makes it easier to use Live.Com to sync Photo's between windows based computers.

Photo Gallery Caveats

• Since you cannot run Photo Gallery on a Mac ... this feature is not available there)
  

SO WHAT... HOW DOES THIS HELP.

Let me tell you how I use these services and perhaps this will provide some insight on its usefulness.

First of all, I am a backup fanatic. I actually bought my first Mac computer because of Time Machine (of course, that was as soon as Time Machine was announced, before Time Machine was even released). Time Machine is greate for backups, but the information is stored locally (same physical location). I use Sync.Live.Com to backup all my photo's (iPhoto), music (iTunes), movies (iMovie), and documents to an Off-Site computer. This saves me about $50 per year in offsite backkup (I have about 40GB worth of files to sync).

I use Mesh for keeping all my current work synchronized between my work laptop, my home Mac and another Windows computer. I also share some of these files with co-workers who need to collaborate on files. Since we all travel alot, Mesh.com takes care of the heavy lifting to ensure that the most current spreadsheet is available for everyone.

I also use Mesh for remote access and the periodic remote troubleshooting. (I was using it for my Windows based Treo, but have since switched to the Blackberry and am anxiously awaiting Mesh for the bberry.

So, there, I hope you like the post.

Microsoft's Live Tools

mesh.com

sync.live.com

skydrive.live.com (onine storage)
spaces.live.com (blog engine)
photos.live.com (photo sharing)
www.officelive.com (document collaboration and web site hosting)

.

Check out my Delicious links associated with this post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/cloud

HowTo Display Facebook Updates on your ScreenSaver

I just finished up a HOWTO on displaying status updates from your Facebook friends on your Mac OS X screen saver.

The HowTo can be found at: http://www.timalosi.com/facebookscreensaverhowto

Check out my Delicious.Com links related to this post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/facebook

Point B Documentary Web Site Launched

Just finished helping out my brother (Michael Alosi) with launching his web site for a documentary that he filmed.

Point B is a documentary on Parkour which discusses the origins, current state and future of this up and coming sport. This documentary follows Parkour Traceurs (practitioners) across three continents. Point B debuted at the Asheville Film Festival in 2008.

The film is available to watch from the web site (http://www.pointbmovie.com), along with histories of the film and a forum for Parkour.

Whether your are a serious Parkour fan, or just curious about what Parkour is, checkout Point B

Check out my Delicious.com links related to this post at (http://www.delicious.com/tim.alosi/parkour)

Blackberry Tips and Tricks

Its been a week with my new Blackberry Curve. Previously, I had a Windows Smartphone (Treo 700WX), and was fairly happy with the functionality, but the stability of the device left much to be desired.

My new Blackberry Curve has been a pleasure. At first I was concerned that it wouldn't have some of the features that I had grown accustomed to with the Treo. That has not only proved false, but there are some excellent applications available that take the smart phone further than the Windows Smartphone platform can currently support. I am sure that there is still untapped functionality in the Blackberry, given that I have only been using it for a week.

Here are some quickly learned tips and tricks (which I'll add to as I learn more)
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Soft Reset: If you would like to reset your Blackberry without popping out the battery, give it a "three fingered salute" using the [alt], [right shift], and [del] keys all at once (don't start with the delete key).

Email Commands
Compose an Email: Roll your cursor so that it is not on an email (on the date for example) and press [enter] to start a new email.
Delete a Message: Use the [del] key followed by [enter] to quickly delete a message
Reply to a Message: Use the [r] key while in a message to reply.
Forward a Message: Use the [f] key while in a message to forward.
To select multiple messages (to file or delete) hold the [shift] key.

MUST HAVE APPLICATIONS
BLACKBERRY APP WORLD: Just recently released, App World is a definite must have ... easy to find, pay for, install (and remove) applications. What more to say? Visit http://www.blackberry.com to download.

VLINGO: Did you know that you can talk to your Blackberry (and it may even talk back to you). VLingo (http://www.vlingo.com) is a great application that uses voice recognition (you talk, it types) to send, reply and forward emails, text (SMS) messages, open applications, search on Google and Yahoo, update your status on Twitter and Facebook, and (of course) dial your phone.

This is a must have application if you spend any time in the car or with your hands busy. You can download VLingo at (http://www.vlingo.com/vlingo/downloadvlingo).

SLACKER: Listen to and customize streaming internet radio stations right to your Blackberry over your 3g network. Slacker Radio (http://www.slacker.com) is pretty cool. You can search for songs and artists or pick from approximately 100 channels of various music genres. There is a free version that has a few limitations, but nothing significant. You can download slacker at (http://www.slacker.com/mobile/blackberrydownload/). (Flycast is another similar application ... I prefer Slacker, but they both seem very functional. )

BLACKBERRY MAPS: While using my Treo, one of my "can't do without" applications was Google Maps. One of the features that I missed was the "My Location" feature, which didn't work on the Treo. So when I loaded up Google Maps on my Blackberry I was very happy to see the "My Location" feature was working as advertised. I was pretty happy ... big step up. Low and behold, I determined after a bit of searching that the Blackberry Maps application actually utilized the internal GPS in the Curve. Now, I have Verizon as a carrier and any googling will indicate that Verizon disables application access to the Internal GPS. Well Blackberry Maps can use the Internal GPS, which makes it my Mapping application of choice. Furthermore, Blackberry Maps utilizes Google Local for its search functionality (note: the search feature is not quite as good as Google Maps). Isn't it great when the built in application does exactly what you need it to.

OTHER TIPS:
YOUR BLACKBERRY as Portable Storage: If you connect your Blackberry to a computer with a USB cable, you can turn on Mass Storage Mode and your Blackberry will be available to uses as a "flash" drive. Pretty handy, especially since the USB cable connection is a standard cable and readily available.

Well that is all for NOW ... I'll update this as I get any more information.

Checkout my Delicious Links that are related to this post at (http://www.delicious.com/tim.alosi/blackberry)

Rebooting a Mac when all else fails

So, I'm off using OpenOffice 3.o (which seems rather buggy compared to 2.4.x) and it locks up ... even Forced Quit application is just sitting there. Now one option is to pull the plug, but that is never the best choice, so here are the steps that I followed to resolve this situation.

1. Stopping Open Office: Since Forced Quitting the application didn't work, I launched the Application Monitor app (found in the Utilities folder in Applications). From there Open Office was shown as not responding. Selecting it in the list of processes and clicking the Stop Sign (kill process) was effective in taking care of Open Office.
2. So ... Now a reboot, something pretty easy one would expect, but after selecting reboot from the Apple Menu, the desktop cleared, but the machine didn't reboot and eventually an error message popped up and said it timed out waiting for Finder to kill itself.
3. Clicking on the Finder in the Dock (which was still visible) started up Finder again. So I tried to do the Reboot from the menu a few times ... repeating steps 2 and 3 here. That didn't work. So when all else fails, it is time to use the Terminal for some command line triage. This is not something that most Mac users will do often, and most will be uncomfortable with it, but it is not that tricky and better than just pulling the plug. To start the terminal App, go to the Utilities folder in Applications and double click on the terminal application.
   
4. Rebooting from Terminal: In general, I don't use the admin account for day to day activities (and neither should you), so the first step is to set the SuperUser (su) to your admin account (the first account you created when you set up your Mac). This is accomplished with the su command. For some help on Mac terminal commands, check out http://www.ss64.com/osx/. From the bash$ prompt, type the following
   

home$ su admin_account (where admin_account is your administration account)
password: (enter your password for the administration account)

Now, to force the reboot. From the bash$ prompt type the following

bash-3.2$ sudo shutdown -r now (translated: "super-user do shutdown and reboot rightnow")
password: (enter your password again)

Rebooting this way is quick and safe, meaning that the system cleans up before rebooting. It is not "pretty" since everything stops immediately. I would say that the prefered method is to use the Apple menu, but when you need it, rebooting from the terminal is better than pulling the plug on your Mac.

See the screen shots below for additional help.

How to uninstall applications on a Mac

I really couldn't post a How To on installing applications without doing one on uninstalling ... right?

The HowTo is posted at: http://www.timalosi.com/uninstallingmacapps

How to install Applications on a Mac

I just finished another Mac OS X HowTo on installing applications. A good one for recent Mac switchers.

The HowTo is at http://www.timalosi.com/howtoinstallmacapps

Microsoft Tag Review ... pretty cool for people on the go.

Just heard about Microsoft Tag today and was wondering what it was and why would I want to use it.

So a quick google and I found the web site (http://www.microsoft.com/tag) and watched the intro video (which was helpful).

A Microsoft tag is a square, colorful, barcode that is a link to some content such as a web site, vCard, a text message, or a telephone number.

Ok ... so what. Now here's the cool part. You can download the Tag Reader application from either (http://www.microsoft.com/tag or http://gettag.mobi for your phone (windows mobile, android, blackberry, or symbian (for iPhone to to the app store :-)) and you point your phone's camera at the Tag, and the reader will scan the barcode and deliver you to the website or dial the number, or display the text.

For people on the go, this is a great tool to easily get content without all that typing on mini keyboards!!

I'll be on the look out for these colorful little squares in the real world!!

Here are a few sample tags (they are spread out to make it easer to scan them with your phone)... try them out!

Sample tag to a web site:

Sample tag to 1-800-Goog-411

Sample Text Tag

Goodbye DrTim, Hello ControlDoctors.com

Here is a notice I sent out regarding introduction of ControlDoctors.com. ControlDoctors.com is a community site for automation professionals using products from Emerson Process Management (Syncade, DeltaV, Provox, RS3, AMS, Fieldbus, SmartWireless, Rosemount, Fisher Controls, Micromotion).

Hi Everyone,

If you are on this email, then at some point in the past, you had joined the forums at the DrTim DeltaV, Provox, and RS3 site.

I have been pleased with how those forums have worked out, but as you may be aware, over the last few years, it had stalled a bit.

This was partially due to my available time, but also due to an aging platform that was difficult to maintain.

So, since we are overhauling our DMZ (where the DrTim site was hosted), it became time to either abandon the site, or overhaul it.

I chose to overhaul it.

The new site URL is http://www.ControlDoctors.com.

All of the forums have been moved to Google Groups (The links are on the ControlDoctors.com home page). I am hopeful that this will improve the manageability, as well as longevity of the site. (one downside is that you will need to join each group that you are interested in).

One of the nice features is that I am now able to extend the ability to Manage the groups (and the web site) to those outside of my organization, so if there are any interested persons, please send me an email.

I hope that you take the time to visit the new site and join some of the groups, there is a wealth of knowledge in our automation community!

Please pass along any suggestions or comments, I put the site together really fast (3 nights) and there are definitely opportunities to improve what is there.

Sincerely,
Tim

P.s. pass along the notice to anyone that you think may benefit from it.

Steps and Resources for setting up your own Web Site

So you've decided you want to create your own web site or blog. Great! It's really easy to do and there are some good free tools for web site hosting, tracking, design and management. This is a list of the tools that I have found useful in working with this blog and with my sites.

Domain Registration:

• I use GoDaddy.com for my domain registration. The prices are good, and they have really good DNS services that come for free with your domain registration to allow you to set up your hosts. If this seems a bit daunting, don't let it, most hosting packages (including Google Apps will take care of this for you
  

Site Hosting: The cost of hosting your own site has dropped significantly in recent years. In addition, there are some good free hosting services.

• Google Apps is a great free service from Google. It provides GMail accounts (you@yourdomain.com), IM services, Calendar, Google Docs for collaboration, Web pages with a simple page designer and templates, and Google Sites (a collaboration space similar to Sharepoint). All this for free. (I use Google Apps for www.timalosi.com )
  
• Microsoft OfficeLive Small Business is another free service. Similar to Google Apps, OfficeLive provides Web pages with an easy editor (and as a nice, advanced, feature, allows you to upload your own pages), email, and spaces (a collaboration tool similar to Sharepoint). In addition, OfficeLive will give you your first year of domain name registration for free. (I use OfficeLive for www.controldoctors.com)
• IXWebHosting.com is a paid, full service hosting service (for as little as $4.95 per month) that provides unlimited web site space, and unlimited transfer of data. They provide at least one free domain registration and a ton of included scripts and the use of databases for data driven websites. If you are looking to do commercial web hosting (selling on the internet), this is a great hosting site. I recently helped set up two new sites on IXWebHosting: IsolatedGraphics.com and PointBMovie.com ).
• Blogger.Com is a free service to host your blog (like this one: fivebytes.blogspot.com ). A blog is a good choice for a web presence if you wish to write content for the web, share your thoughts, and talk about different topics.
• Wordpress.com is another free service to host a blog. Both Blogger and Wordpress are very functional and easy to use.

Getting Listed in Search Engines: Ok, now that you have your site, you want people to find you. Many search engines continuously search the internet for new sites, and if you are using some of Google's services (Google Apps or Blogger), google will likely pick up your site automatically. But you may want to submit your site to ensure it is indexed (although you need to be patient, as it takes time.

• Google
• Microsoft Live Search
• Yahoo

Web Master Tools: If you want to see how the different search engines are treating your site, and what search queries your site is appearing in, you should sign up for the web master tools at each of the major search engines. Signup is free.

• Google Webmaster Tools
  
• Live Search Webmaster Tools
• Yahoo Site Explorer
  

One item that these Webmaster tools recommend is a Sitemap. Either a simple page with links to all the pages on your site, or an XML file that contains links all the pages (or at least the most important). There are online sites that will generate the XML file in the correct format.
The one that I use is http://www.xml-sitemaps.com.


Analyze Site Traffic: In order to check how many visitors came to your site, what pages they looked at and other interesting statics, you need a (free) service like Google Analytics. To use Google Analytics, you need to embed some simple javascript onto your web pages (it is pretty easy and there are lots of tutorials on the web). The amount of statistics you can get are impressive, and you can watch your site flourish.

Making your Site look great: If you are looking for some good images for your site, an often inexpensive (and sometimes free) approach is to use a stock photo service. Often the images are very inexpensive. Here is a list of stock photo sites. (Note: Just be careful to ensure that you have the right to use the photo. It is worthwhile to double check!)

• iStockPhoto.com
• www.public-domain-photos.com