Latest Posts in Macworld Video

Stay safe managing your iPod

Despite our lawmakers’ best efforts to keep us from doing incredibly stupid and dangerous things while driving, some motorists still insist on taking their eyes off the road to muck with one electronic gewgaw or another. Understanding both the benefits and perils an auto-bound iPod can bring, I devote this episode of the Macworld Video to tips that may help save your life (or, more importantly, mine) while driving with an iPod.

Download Macworld Video #97

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 10MB
• Length: 4 minutes and 30 seconds

Show Notes

In my home state of California, it’s illegal to use a cell phone to make or receive calls while driving unless you use a hands-free device. (Exceptions apply, however. It’s perfectly okay to use your phone to rat out drunk drivers or alert the authorities if you’re having a health crisis.) Drivers under the age of 18 are further restricted—no laptop use while driving (imagine!), for example. And, as the tax-payer funded DMV video found on this Web page explains, no, kids, you can’t text while driving even if you have a note from your mother.

In the video I point the camera at two FM transmitters—Griffin Technology’s $50 iTrip Auto SmartScan and one of DLO’s TransDock transmitters (priced from $80 to $100). Both of these transmitters will scan the dial for open frequencies, which can be a real time saver as well as a safer way to operate an iPod/iPhone in your car.

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Hands on with the Kindle 2

Earlier this week, Amazon starting shipping the new Kindle 2 e-book reader. Priced at $359, the Kindle 2 is thinner and a bit lighter than the original Kindle.

This video features a hands-on demonstration with Amazon’s new e-book reader. Learn about the Kindle 2's new features, and whether it's an improvement over the original Kindle.

Download Macworld Video #96

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 8.5MB
• Length: 2 minutes, 52 seconds

You can also watch the video on the Web by clicking on the Play button in the video box below.

A full review of the Kindle 2 is in the works. Our sister publication, PC World, gave its first impressions of the Kindle 2 when it was unveiled earlier this month. You can also check out this photo slideshow that compares the original Kindle and the Kindle 2.

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Hands on with the Cruzer Enterprise

USB flash drives are a great way to transfer large files, and they’re small enough to carry one with you all the time. But they’re easy to lose, and the idea of your data in some stranger’s hands is quite unsettling. There are a number of USB flash drives available with file encryption, but most of them are for Windows only.

SanDisk’s Cruzer Enterprise is one of the few secure USB flash drive for the Mac. It can also be used on Windows PCs, and it supports 256-bit AES encryption.

In this video, I’ll take a look at how the Cruzer Enterprise works. It requires software to run on your Mac or Windows PC.

Download Macworld Video #95

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Hands on with the Fusion iPod car stereo

Back when we bestowed our appreciation on our favorite iPod accessories of 2008, we gave a special “best idea” award to Fusion’s CA-IP500 , the first car stereo that lets you dock your iPod inside the head unit—an obvious approach that, quite frankly, we're surprised no one took before now. At the time, we worded that award name carefully because the product wasn't yet available, so we hadn't had a chance to test it.

The CA-IP500 is now available and in this week's video, I give you a hands-on tour of the system.

Download Macworld Video #94

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 432 x 320 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 9.1MB
• Length: 6 minutes, 35 seconds

Show Notes

The CA-IP500's MSRP is $250 and it's currently available from Best Buy here in the US. Here are the specs I wasn't able to include in the video:

• Class A amplifier, 50 Watts per channel maximum output (4 channels)
• Two auxiliary inputs
• Two pairs of pre-outs
• Subwoofer output
• Adjustable subwoofer crossover
• Radio Data System (RDS) support
• Twelve tuner presets
• Eight equalizer presets and three user-programmable equalizer settings
• SRS WOW audio processing
• Compatible with all fifth-generation (5G), classic, and touch iPod models, as well as second-generation and newer iPod nanos

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Throw your stuff in Dropbox

Syncing files between different computers, Macs and PCs alike, isn’t a new idea. But Dropbox does it better than any service I’ve yet seen. The transfers are fast and seamless, and the first two gigabytes of storage space are free.

In this edition of the Macworld Video, I take you on a tour of Dropbox, showing you how it works, what it looks like, and a few quick shortcuts. The good news is, since it’s got a free version, you can try it out for a while and see how you like it.

And one of my favorite features of Dropbox is its built-in version control. If you change a file and later regret the changes you made, don’t worry—you can go back to Dropbox’s web site and retrieve an older version. Pretty cool stuff.

Download Macworld Video #93

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 432 x 320 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 11.4MB
• Length: 5 minutes, 21 seconds

Notes

Lots of strange things in this video. I make reference to an obscure novelty song from 1944, the existence of which I know only because it features in one of the more bizarre anecdotes in my favorite sports book of all time.

The contents of my box prop are: a Biotron Micronaut, a plush Shamu, a Fairytale Beanie Baby, a plush Spider-Man, and a Darth Vader mask.

Thanks to John Gruber for the picture of Merlin Mann. Thanks to Merlin Mann for the hearty recommendation to try Dropbox that he gave me at Macworld Expo.

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TechRestore’s ‘MatteBook Pro’ and Growl

This installment of the Macworld video covers two distinct topics. First, in a follow-up to the TechRestore MacBook Pro hands-on report, I take a quick tour of this matte-screen-converted unibody MacBook Pro on video, due to the furor raised over my photos of two small damage areas in my original write-up. In the video, I take a quick tour of the bezel area, and then look at the modified machine sitting next to its unmodified sibling.

After that, I take a look at Growl, a free application notification system that displays notifications in a useful and unobtrusive manner. That's a mouthful of words, but basically, Growl watches other applications so you don't have to. If you use Transmit, for instance, Growl can tell you when a large upload or download has completed. If you use NetNewsWire to read news feeds, it can tell you when feeds have been updated, or all feeds have been downloaded. In the video, I provide an overview of Growl's features, and demonstrate some of what you can do with it.

Download Macworld Video #92

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 7.7MB
• Length: 6 minutes

During the video, I mention:

• TechRestore's MacBook Pro matte screen conversion: This program removes the stock glass and glossy screen from your unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro and replaces it with a matte screen and flat black surrounding bezel, all for $199. Having used the machine for a week now, I’m really loath to send it back to Macworld Lab!
• Transmit: Panic’s FTP program, Transmit, is Growl-aware, and I mention some of the ways you might use Growl's notifications with Transmit, especially across your network.
• DropCopy: This network transfer tool that makes it super-simple to copy files and folders, and send messages, between machines on your network. It's free to use for up to three machines in your household, and you can read more about it in Dan Frakes’ Mac Gems write-up.

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Hands on with iLife ’09

With iLife ’09 in the wild, it’s time to take a look at some of its intriguing new features. And what could be more intriguing than iPhoto ’09’s Faces—the ability for iPhoto to recognize faces and create collections of people based on that recognition—and Places, a reflection of iPhoto’s new geotag awareness?

In this edition of the Macworld Video I offer a few techniques for taking advantage of these two features.

Download Macworld Video #91

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 9.2MB
• Length: 7 minutes

Show Notes

During the video I mention a few products other than iPhoto ’09. They include:

MacSense’s Geomet’r. This is a smallish $150 GPS unit that attaches to the hotshoe of Nikon D300, D3, D200, D2Hs & D2Xs, and Fujifilm S5 Pro DSLRs. You velcro the unit to a hotshoe insert and then plug the data connector into the camera’s data port. It derives its power from the camera’s battery and takes around a minute to acquire coordinates. The included software is pretty clunky, but hey, you’re using iPhoto ’09, what do you care?

HoudahGeo. Houdah Software’s $30 HoudahGeo is a powerful utility for adding geotags to images. It writes EXIM, XMP, and IPTC tags; allows you to acquire coordinates from Google Earth, a built-in map, or from GPS track logs provided by your GPS unit (a Garmin, Magellan, or Wintec unit, for example); and you can export your data to Google Earth as well as upload geotagged pictures to Flickr. If you don’t care to do your geotagging within iPhoto because you find the process too slow, HoudahGeo is definitely worth a look.

MacUser’s Derik DeLong (known affectionately around here as “d00d”) reveals that iPhoto ’09’s Faces may work with your pet. Jim Dalrymple got together with Apple’s vice president of applications product marketing, Rob Schoeben, to get the inside dope on some of iPhoto ’09’s new features. And Macworld senior editor, Jackie Dove, tells you what you need to know about this new version of iPhoto.

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You can also see a complete archive of all our videos on Macworld’s YouTube channel. Subscribe to that channels and you will be notified whenever we post a new video.

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New cameras and camcorders at CES 2009

The onslaught of new camera and camcorder announcements at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show includes a model that has a high-speed burst shooting mode, a wireless camera that uploads directly to the Web, a digital camera with a built-in printer, a waterproof camcorder, and tiny video cameras.

Our sister publication, PC World, got the scoop on the hottest new cameras at CES 2009.

Download Macworld Video #90

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 21MB
• Length: 5 minutes, 15 seconds

You can also watch the video on the Web by clicking on the Play button in the video box below.

Show Notes

For more information about the products mentioned in the video, check out the following PC World articles:

• Casio's New, Thinner Cameras Offer High-speed Shooting
• Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3: The iPod of Cameras?
• Sony Enters the Pocket-Camcorder Ring
• Polaroid Launches Digital Instant Camera
• Panasonic Joins the Pocket-Camcorder Party

PC World says that camcorder flooded the CES halls. PC World also has a slideshow of cameras from CES.

You can also visit the following product pages:

• Casio Exilim EX-FC100 and EX-FS10 (press release)
• Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3
• Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1
• Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1
• Polaroid PoGo
• Panasonic SDR-SW21 and SDR-S15 (press release)

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You can also see a complete archive of all our videos on Macworld's YouTube channel. Subscribe to that channels and you will be notified whenever we post a new video.

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Palm’s Pre and other CES mobile phones

While Mac users were paying attention to Macworld Expo, the rest of the tech world was drawn to the Consumer Electronics Show. Some major announcements were made at CES, including Palm’s introduction of the Pre mobile phone.

Macworld's sister publication, PC World, took a look at the Pre smart phone. PC World also looks at a couple of other interesting mobile phones, including a Dick Tracy-esque wristphone from LG, and Motorola’s entry into the touchscreen smart phone arena.

Download Macworld Video #89

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 320 x 240 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 7.6MB
• Length: 2 minutes, 49 seconds

You can also watch the video on the Web. Just click on the Play button in the video box below.

Read more...

Macworld Expo show floor grab bag

The exhibitor halls at Macworld Expo are full of cool things to see from Apple and other companies, like Canon, HP, LaCie, Microsoft, and more. But Macworld Expo isn't like any other computer trade show—instead of business suit-types crowding the halls talking, well, business, the show is filled with everyday users. That gives the show a special vibe and there are a lot of neat and quirky things to see.

In this Macworld Video, follow Macworld Lab Director Jim Galbraith as he makes the rounds of the show floor. He doesn't make the usual stops at the big vendor booths. Instead, he finds a few products that aren't what you might expect from a typical trade show—but are what make Macworld Expo unique.

Download Macworld Video #88

• Format: MPEG-4/H.264
• Resolution: 480 x 320 (iPhone & iPod compatible)
• Size: 11.6MB
• Length: 2 minutes, 38 seconds

Show Notes

For more information on the products in this video:

• TechRestore MacBook Pro Unibody 15" Matte Finish Screen Upgrade
• SMART board for Flat-Panel Displays
• Stardom Storage Pro Drive RAID Enclosure for the Mac Pro
• Smule Ocarina for iPhone
• Ampli-Phone
• Memeo Share
• NEC CRVD 42DWX curved DLP display
• Mimoco Mimobot Star Wars USB Flash Drives
• Viximo TrueFlirt for iPhone
• Myvu Crystal

Bunny ears were everywhere at Expo. It was part of a promotion by Peachpit. MacUser's Scott McNulty had some thoughts about such promotions.

The "most comfortable chair at Macworld" was in the booth of Etymotic Research, makers of high-fidelity earphones. The chair was used to test the noise-isolating ability of earphones like Etymotic's new hf5.

And yes, that was Woz. He gave regular presentations at the Axiotron booth. In the video, he was discussing a number puzzle. He was not calling out bingo numbers. And he did not have his Segway.

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